After the Honey Moon ends
by Daichilover
Summary: College days are here to stay! That's exactly what Inuyasha and Kagome want to do as they settle down and enroll in college. Life couldn't be better...until unexpected people appear and reappear. What's a girl to do? Why, fight fire with fire. IK
1. The Move in

**A/N: Hello you guys! Here we are with the sequel of STYD, "After the honey moon ends,"!**

**I know, I'm excited too! I had such a great response to STYD so I hope there will be an even better response! **

**Mind you, this is a co-written story. The lovely ****_midnightlily105_****, will be working with me to accomplish this wonderful story. Please, let half of the credit go to her! *bows humbly*.This first chapter will be written by me, Daichi, but the rest will be split up between me and my co-writer. REVIEW ok, you guys? This will be great!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but I do love him (no offense, Kagome!)**

**Chapter 1: The Move-in **

"Kagome! Where are those crates you said that had the plates in them?"

I looked up from the box I was unpacking, sighing and putting my hands on my hips. How could he have forgotten when I had told him where everything was before we even got here? You just can't rely on husbands anymore, can you?

"You idiot, I told you a million times! It's the crate marked 'fragile'!"

Inuyasha, who had been scratching his head for ten minutes turned around and exclaimed, "I found them!"

Half-laughing, I bent down to keep sorting out the crate in front of me. The cottage Inuyasha and I were going to live in seemed to be a whole lot smaller with all the crates and boxes spread out in the living room. We might as well make it homey.

So we're in the process of moving in. School doesn't start until late fall and Inuyasha and I just came back from our honey moon. Needless to say, I will never forget those first days together as a married couple. I'm still giggling at the idea.

For now, though we have to wait out the rest of the time doing other things. There's lots of stuff I haven't tried that I would love to try with Inuyasha. Besides, there was still Ayame and Sango's wedding to plan. Miroku might've not proposed yet, but we all know where they're headed in the long run. Ayame's wedding is actually right before Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango and I will be entering college, so we're all psyched to go.

We're all going to attend the same University, though we had all tried to get accepted into Ayame's University first. (I nearly died taking the entrance exams. It didn't take a genius to figure out I was not getting in that school.) So we all picked one we knew we could get in easily and that it wouldn't cost us much. (I'm sure Inuyasha's father could throw in some money for all of us, but no one wants to owe the 'boss' any money.)

"Kagome, where do you want me to put this?" Sango came in from outside, holding a pair of pale red window curtains in her hands.

"Just leave them in the bedroom. I'll hang them up later." I jabbed a thumb in the direction of the hallway behind me, which lead to the master bedroom.

Sango, nodding and smiling brightly, ran off in the direction of the bedroom. I sighed as I threw the empty box in front of me to the side in favor for another full box. I swear, I didn't even know I had this much stuff! I guess my mom had packed more things than I had accounted for because the next box was full of useless wall decorations and little porcelain dolls. I mean, where could I put all this stuff?

"Inuyasha, what are we going to do with this?" I held up a little doll and watched his eyes zero in.

He shrugged non-chalantly. "I don't know. How about the little closet over to your left?"

I stood up, walking over to the closet, and even though I was going to regret it, opened the door. A mass of useless knick-knacks and decorations cascaded like rain, falling onto the floor. It literally looked like a mountain. Inuyasha was so surprised; he had already backed away from the mass of the dumb crap we had as if it were going to bury him alive.

"Where did all that come from?" he exclaimed.

I leaned against the doorway of the closet. "Mom." I said, as an explicative.

Inuyasha laughed nervously, a hand behind his head. "Your mom sure knows how to give stuff. I guess I see your point."

I shrugged and stared at the mess I had just created. I bent down to start cleaning up again. The thing about doing stuff like this is that your hands are the only things preoccupied. Your mind however, runs like a wild turkey on Thanksgiving Day. I guess it's just human nature to be paranoid.

If it had been me from a few months ago, I would have been worrying about the status of my life. I would also be contemplating whether or not Inuyasha and I would stay together forever, like I had always dreamed of in my wildest fantasy.

But since that was me from my past, we'll just pretend she never existed. I don't want a trip down _that _memory lane.

The me from the present, though, has a lot things to be happy about. Apart from having the satisfaction of seeing the man who attempted to kill her being locked away, she also got to see the slut who had wanted to take her man away shipped off to an asylum. Not to mention that she got married with said-man. In short, I couldn't be any happier than right now. Well, maybe there were some other things, but those could be settled easily. Nothing's ever perfect right?

That said, I think I should clean up the formidable mountain of porcelain dolls, scary looking owls and who knows what else before I run away.  
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"I'm so exhausted!" Miroku exclaimed, falling into an armchair that we had moved up against the wall. All of us in the room simultaneously glared at him. Miroku opened his closed eyes and looked at us with a puzzled expression.

"What?"

Sango, a vein pulsing in her head, smacked Miroku upside his head, resulting with him on the floor. "You didn't do a thing! All you did was drive back and forth!"

Miroku, getting up from the floor with a nosebleed, rushed to defend himself. "But Sango dearest, it was all for you?" He said it more like a question than a declaration of love. I had to muffle my laughter behind my hand. I glanced at Inuyasha, who I noticed had turned away and silently laughed towards the wall he was standing near.

Sango rolled her eyes and turned away from Miroku. "Hmph."

The glint in his eyes should have been enough to at least tip _me_ off on what would happen next. His hand moved with skill and precision, landing right on his intended target, his doom and his last deed before he completely sealed his death.

Yep. He groped Sango's butt.

Sango whirled, lifting her hand and smacking Miroku to near Pluto. Her face was red from embarrassment and anger as she shouted. "I thought I told you not to touch me!"

Inuyasha and I, on the other hand, could not find a way to stop laughing. Tears were streaming down my face as I watched the couple's feud unfold. It certainly wasn't the first time this happened, but it was still as funny as the first time.

Masochistic comedy never gets old.

Knowing that their bout would take a couple of more minutes, I moved closer to Inuyasha, slipping my hand through his. Inuyasha caught the movement and squeezed my hand.

"It never gets old, does it?" He nodded his head toward Miroku and Sango. "Sango just doesn't get that's how Miroku shows his affection."

I giggled. "Even if she did know, she'd still smack him straight into space. He's pulled this stunt so many times, I wonder if he's a masochist or something."

Inuyasha laughed. "I've wondered that too."

So, even though the circumstances weren't all that romantic, I felt like melting against Inuyasha. I had always loved him, but now I felt that if I loved him anymore that my heart would burst. It was just a wonderful feeling to spread in your chest.

Inuyasha pulled me closer, his arm around my shoulder. He smelled like the cologne I had given him as a wedding present, though we had agreed not give each other any. (He gave me a ruby necklace and matching earrings, so he broke the rule too. I felt like crap that I had only given him cologne but he made me not buy him anything else.)

"Are you tired?"

Suddenly, it was as if all the weight came crashing down at the very moment he said those words. I yawned and nodded. "Yeah," I answered meekly.

"Then go ahead and lean on my shoulder. I'll carry you to bed later."

I nodded once more and closed my eyes, Sango and Miroku's bickering lulling me to sleep. I laid my head onto Inuyasha's shoulder and was content. The one thing I knew would never get old was this. Me, snuggling with Inuyasha like this. Nothing could ever break us apart.

Even if I had had my doubts before, nothing could tell me that I didn't love Inuyasha. If our love had been written off in the first place, I would have been like Juliet and I'm sure Inuyasha would have been my Romeo. We would have meet somewhere, on the outskirts of town, spent time together and fall in love. Even if we had been born in different worlds, I would have done anything to be with him. A love like this could simply not be compared to anything else in the world, and I'm sure I would be horribly devastated is something ever drove us apart.

Slowly, my eyelids drooped until I was fast asleep, holding Inuyasha's hand and leaning onto him.

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**A/N: A bit on the short side, but don't worry. It will get much better after this. I promise! I have a really cool plot that I think will really get your attention. Plus, as a writer, I think I have improved a lot since the first chapter of STYD. (No one agree to that)**

**So… Feedback is appreciated. I want the good, the bad and the ugly so please don't hesitate to click that button. Now, if you truly think I deserve a flame, or you're just having a bad day, review as anonymous please. That way, I can delete it after reading it. And if you don't… Well, let's just say I would be really, really pissed and you'd know it. ;)**

**So please review! I want to know what everyone thinks! **

**-Daichi**


	2. Disaster Date

**A/N: Yay! Second chapter! This one was written by me, Bella. I hope I do as good a job as Daichi. Well, read up guys!**

**Chapter 2: Disaster Date**

I snuggled deeper into the warmth and tried to fall back asleep. This was a peaceful moment; I was comfortably curled up against Inuyasha's side and he was humming to himself while he stroked my hair. I couldn't have been happier. I was enjoying my new life and nothing could have made me regret any of the decisions that led up to this moment. I finally realized that I wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep so I stretched and opened my eyes to find Inuyasha's golden ones trained on me. A slow, soft smile spread over his face and I smiled back.

"Morning." He whispered to me; his fingers tangling in my hair as he brought me closer for a kiss. I pulled away with a quick, jerky movement and Inuyasha's brows knitted together in confusion.

"I have morning breath." I whispered back embarrassedly.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at me. "Do you really think I care?" he asked before gently pressing his lips to mine. "Silly woman." He said resting his forehead against mine and closing his eyes. We laid quietly for a few minutes, soaking in each other's warmth before his eyes snapped open and focused on something behind me. Inuyasha sighed before getting out of bed and starting towards the bathroom.

"Yash, where are you going?" I asked propping myself up on an elbow. It was a minute before he stuck his head out of the bathroom door, toothbrush in mouth and replied,

"Skoow." It was quiet for a moment before he replied again with a coherent answer of, "School." I had forgotten the new semester at the university began today. My classes weren't until tomorrow though so I would be spending the day alone.

"You'll be alright?" Inuyasha asked pulling a shirt over this head. I nodded. I would just finish unpacking. "Okay, see ya later." Inuyasha said planting a kiss on my forehead. He looked back longingly for a moment before leaving. I lay in bed for a few minutes longer before I forced myself to get up. I had work to do.

I hated unpacking. I decided this when I opened three boxes and found random room items strewn throughout them. One box held bathroom rugs and kitchen silverware. The other had our glass coffee mugs and some highly breakable vases and none of them were wrapped. Luckily, nothing had been broken and only one vase had chipped. Oh well, I never like that one anyhow.

As for the last box, I'm not even going to say what I found. Let's just say that it would be funny until you found out that the contents of the box didn't belong to either Inuyasha or me and if I acknowledged the existence of them, it would be the same as if I had used them. I shuddered at the thought and quickly closed that one up and put it by the front door. I ran to put on some shoes and opened the door box in hand; I was going to toss this one, but I didn't even make it out the door.

Ayame stood at my front door, hand poised to ring the bell. She smiled in glee and bounced inside, pulling me with her.

"Ayame, could you hold on a sec? I need to toss some stuff into the dumpster on the end of the street." I started walking past her. "I'll be back."

Before I could take another step, Ayame took the box from my arms and put it down on the floor next to the couch.

"I can't believe you were going to throw away our housewarming gift to you Kagome." She said with a pointedly accusing expression.

"Ayame, do you know what's in this box?" I can't keep this!"

"Of course I know! Miroku and I put this together for you and Inuyasha." I nearly choked on air. If it was Miroku and Ayame, then I knew my theory of what was in the box was true. I wanted to strangle the both of them.

"You two . . ." This explained the videos. I shook my head. "What do you want Ayame?" I asked a little harshly, already in a bad mood.

"Ooh someone's a little touchy today." She said grinning at me. "You haven't had your coffee yet huh?"

"Not yet."

"Ah, well. Not to worry. I brought you coffee since your coffee makers broken."

"My coffee maker's not . . ." I hurried to the kitchen and sure enough the machine was broken. "How'd you know my coffee maker was broken?"

Ayame smiled again, but she didn't answer. I shrugged it off There was no use in getting mad now; it had probably been broken since she had packed it up at my mom's place. I held my hand out and Ayame placed a cup in my hand. I tentatively took a few sips and the warm liquid soothingly trickled down my throat.

I smiled, suddenly forgetting all about the wrongly packaged items and Miroku and Ayame's little '_surprise_'. For the moment, all was well with the world. I sat on the couch in pure bliss and listened to Ayame talk about some of the ideas that she and Kouga had come up with for their wedding. Everything she said sounded fun, but already I could tell that this totally wasn't going to be a normal or traditional wedding. Ayame left after a little while because her classes were going to start soon and despite all that she had done just this morning, I was reluctant to see her go.

Almost everything had a designated spot. The only thing that I hadn't finished yet was hanging up the pictures, but that could wait. What I really wanted to do was finish sorting through all of the knickknacks that my mother had given us. I had put everything that I absolutely didn't need or hated into a few small boxes in the corner of the living room, but I didn't know what to do with the rest. I actually kind of liked a few things, and had placed them on our shelves but there was a large looming mountain of things that I still hadn't decided if I should keep or not. I was still musing over what to do with a mini sculpture of a sakura tree when Inuyasha crept up behind me, as quiet as a mouse and wrapped his arms around my waist. I yelped in surprise and turned to face him.

"Hey." I greeted him. "How were your classes? Feel any smarter?" I joked

"Hi. The usual, and no not really but I can sing the gummy bear song in German. Have you been working all day?" He asked, looking around the nicely cleaned room.

I shrugged nonchalantly. It really wasn't _that_ hard.

"Go take a break." Inuyasha said, towing me towards the room. I complied, shook him off and made my way to the room. I was about to lie down on the bed when I noticed a white box with a pink ribbon and bow. Knowing that it had to be for me, I shook the box much like a kid at Christmas would. I heard nothing so I opened it to reveal one of the most beautiful dresses that I had ever seen. The dress was a rich forest green and had thin straps that tied behind the neck. There was a clear jewel that sat in the middle of my chest where the straps met with the dress. I figured that it would reach a little below my knees and seemed to be a flowy kind of dress.

"Inuyasha Takahashi!" I screamed. Inuyasha appeared in the doorway a second later wearing his cute confused expression. He tensed for a second."What? What did I do?"

I had to laugh at his question. I waved the dress in front of him."What is this? What's the meaning of this?" Inuyasha cringed slightly before I threw my arms around his neck. "I love it Inuyasha! I absolutely love it!"

I could hear him sighing out of relief and he loosely slung his arms around my hips. "I was hoping we could go out for dinner tonight. You know, kind of like a date."

"I would love to." I said softly. "But next time tell me that you're going to buy me something. It's not fair that you keep buying me stuff and I never get you anything."

"It's fine. Besides, I have you, what more could I want?" I smiled and hid my face in Inuyasha's shirt to hide my blush. Yup, I loved my husband.

* * *

Later that night, I was dolled up and ready to go. Inuyasha drove us to a fancy little restaurant that I used to imagine myself eating in when I was younger. How did he even know about the place?

Sensing my question, he answered, chuckling as he did. "I dug out of your mom. She was more than happy to oblige."

I grinned and smacked his shoulder playfully. "That's cheating, Inuyasha." He parked the car and leaned in closer to me.

"Not if it makes you happy." He leaned in and before I knew it, we were kissing. What a way to start a date! But, of course, I wasn't complaining.

After detangling ourselves from each other, and after a few more kisses, Inuyasha held out a hand and helped me out of the car. I smoothed out my dress and touched my hair; the spiral curls that I had so meticulously created were still intact.

Inuyasha led me inside and we were seated at a small table by a large window with a beautiful view. We ordered our drink and I looked out of the window for a while. A small band began to play and I looked over at Inuyasha when he picked up my hand and measured it against his larger one before lacing his fingers through mine.

"What do you say we go dance?" He asked gently tugging me up from my seat. I shook my head; there weren't that many people here but there were enough people to witness me dancing and I wasn't the best of dancers. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"No, Inuyasha," I said but he had already dragged me out onto the floor. "Inuyasha, please!" I pleaded. I really did not want to spend the rest of the night apologizing for broken limbs, not to mention my own. "I don't want to embarrass myself."

"You won't. Relax Kagome, just follow my lead." He said beginning to sway with the music. I warily followed his lead, glancing down at our feet to make sure I didn't step on his feet. After a while, it was actually nice. Well, I was as close to Inuyasha as I could be while dancing. But this time I did it out of necessity, since all the other girls who were disappointed with their dates kept ogling at Inuyasha.

_Hands off, you conniving skanks! Stick to your own damn dates! HE'S MINE!_

We sat down at the table and I could feel that my face was flushed from so much dancing. I actually hadn't done that bad once I let Inuyasha take control. Now he was looking at me with a knowing smile while I sipped my water the first waiter had brought.

"Hi, can I take your order?" I glanced up at the chirpy voice. It was a new waitress. My eyebrows scrunched up. Where was our waiter? Besides, I had reason to question this one. She looked a little too happy to have her job and I didn't realize why until I noticed her ogling Inuyasha.

"Yeah, I'll have the shabu shabu. What about you, honey?" He asked, glancing up at me. Either he didn't seem to notice the fact that she was practically drooling on her notepad, or he was just politely ignoring her. Either way, my hands itched to strangle her.

"Kagome? Are you okay?"

I stopped glaring at our waitress long enough to look down at the men. I ordered the first thing I saw.

"I'll take an order of dashi."

"I'll have that right out. Is there anything else I can get you? Anything at all?" She asked leaning towards Inuyasha suggestively.

Was it me or was there a little more insinuation in her voice? I snorted and rolled my eyes. I mean, really? Was she just going to ignore me and try to make an advance at my husband? Oh so help me god, if she didn't leave in the next two seconds she was going to find herself leaving on a stretcher. Luckily Inuyasha said no and waved her away without ever taking a glance in her direction.

Smart move, Inuyasha, smart move.

"Desperate much?" I said sarcastically, taking up my glass and drinking from it again. He better have a good answer or _he'd_ be the one leaving on a stretcher.

"What?" Inuyasha looked as if he was oblivious to everything that had just happened. God, was he that dense?

I decided he couldn't play dumb with me. "Don't act like you didn't notice what she was doing."

Inuyasha looked confused. "What was she doing?"

I snorted and gripped my glass, looking him right in the eye and leaning in. "She was practically undressing you with her eyes." I let go of the glass. Anymore pressure and it would shatter.

"Kagome, it's ok. Just ignore her. You should know by now that I'm not going to let anyone come between us. Especially not some yuppie waitress." He waved a hand toward her across the room. "Not while I have you." He cupped my cheek in his hand. "Okay?" His eyes searched mine. I could see that he really meant what he had said and I deflated, nodding. "Okay."

The waitress came out and placed Inuyasha's meal in front of him. It looked pretty good.

"Enjoy." She said in her syrupy-sweet voice and smiled too widely at Inuyasha. He looked up at her for a second. "I'm sorry; I believe we're missing a meal."

"Are you? I brought your food out didn't I?" She said her eyes wide.

"Yes, but my wife is missing her dashi soup."

"Oh." She said plainly looking at me. "I'll bring that right out." She said, her voice had lost its syrupy quality and had dropped about two octaves. She came back a few minutes later with my soup. "Here." She said before the bowl tipped and scalding broth and mushrooms spilled onto my lap. I screamed and hopped up.

"You witch! You stupid little witch! You did that on purpose!" I clasped my hands over my mouth, but it was too late. I had already gone off. I tried to apologize. I hated being a bitch, even if the person in question was trying to steal my man.

Damn my good-natured heart.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that." The waitress stared at me wide eyed before leaving, a scowl on her face. I quickly turned to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, I really didn't mean to . . ."

"I know you didn't. Go clean yourself up and make sure you're not burned too badly." I nodded and left for the bathroom. I was okay but I was sure that the dress was ruined. I felt really bad about what I had said to the waitress. I rarely said anything that harsh, at least, not without full right. I honestly didn't mean to call her a witch but I had been so upset from her flirting with Inuyasha and then she dropped hot soup in my lap. What was a girl supposed to do? I sat back down at the table, nearly in tears.

Another bowl of soup was on the table in front of my spot. "I talked to the waitress when she came back Kagome. She says it's okay and that she didn't take any hard feelings and that she should've been more careful with the soup." He said softly. I nodded and looked out of the window wistfully again.

It was quiet for a while and I listened to the band when they started up again but I didn't really enjoy it. "Kagome, are you going to eat your soup?"

"I'll get it to go and eat it later." It was quiet for a few seconds more before Inuyasha reached out to take my hand.

"Talk to me, hon. I came to spend time with you, not to eat dinner by myself. We both know that you didn't mean what you said and that's all that matters. Accidents happen so don't worry." I slowly nodded and then smiled.

"You'll never believe what I found today."

"What?" Inuyasha asked

"Well Miroku and Ayame thought they'd give us a "housewarming gift" and they left us a box full of, um…" I leaned in, whispering the last part in his ears. Inuyasha's eyes bulged and he started to cough. I handed him his glass of water and he chugged it.

"They left a box of what in our house?" I nodded and Inuyasha laughed. "Wow, that's um, disturbing." We both looked at each other and laughed before uncomfortably scratching our heads. "So what are we going to do with it?"

"I wanted to toss it but Ayame came over before I could and hid it somewhere in the house where I can't find it."

"Ah, well . . ." Inuyasha's eyes focused in the direction of the chef's door and he got a really weird expression on his face. Before I could ask what was going on I heard a few screams and people began to run past out table. I turned around to see huge flames coming from the kitchen and they had already started to spread around the restaurant. Bright flames began to lick at the floor and crept towards out table.

I knew that I needed to get up but I was so enthralled by the flames I couldn't move.

"Kagome!"

Inuyasha yanked me out of my chair and I came out of my reverie. He grabbed my hand and began to pull me towards the front door of the restaurant. I tripped and felt something pull in my ankle and I cried out. I had to stop running because of the pain that shot up my leg. I tried my best to keep up but I couldn't. And then there was a strange tickling sensation that turned to an intense burning.

"My hair's on fire! My hair is on fire!" I screamed. I don't know how, but Inuyasha managed to get me outside, safely away from the building and stopped the fire that had eaten away at my hair.

I had a badly sprained ankle and I lost about four inches of hair. I had clipped the burnt ends so that everything was even and all of the dead pieces were gone and I sadly noted that my hair now only reached my shoulders instead of my mid-back. In tears and stil in shock on what had happened, Inuyasha strapped me inside the car. He tried to calm me.

"Kagome, it's okay. You're fine, see?" He held my hand. "Nothing happened."

I shook my head. "Inuyasha, I could have died there. What if you hadn't pulled me out of the way in time? What if the fire had gotten to me before I could stand up?" I was still freaked out.

Inuyasha sighed and squeezed my hand. "Kagome, it's okay." He repeated and then at a stop light, he kissed the back of my hand. "I love you."

That, and another light kiss, eased my panic.

* * *

Back at home, I showered and crawled into bed next to Inuyasha. He pulled me into his arms and buried his face in my hair, or what was left of it

"I'm so sorry, Kagome. I didn't think any of this would happen." He said softly, his voice broken and muffled.

"It's okay." I took his face in my hands. "None of this is your fault so don't you go blaming yourself." Inuyasha nodded and held me tighter.

"G'night." I said closing my eyes and snuggling into his warmth.

"G'night, Kagome." Before falling asleep I could've swore I heard Inuyasha whisper, "I could've lost her tonight."

**Daichi: Well, this is my A/N and I have to say, two thumbs up! So, to congratulate Bella, I hope you guys review a lot! The next chapter will be written by me and we're gonna take this story up a notch!**

**That said, I'll leave you guys a preview. Just how I used to do it in STYD.**

_**Preview: After the date disaster, Kagome would rather much stay at home than go to school, but when she finds out that the fire was arson, Kagome starts having a trip down memory lane and it doesn't help that she finds one of the people she most fears back in her life.**_


	3. When justice fails you

**A/N: Daichi here, back with another chapter of ATHME! I'm glad a lot of people liked it. Please, you guys, spread the word about the story! Get more people to review! Authors like Bella and me love reviews! It's what we thrive on! **

**Disclaimer: (Ugh, we totally forgot this in the last chapter! I hope no one comes looking for me yet…) neither I nor Bella own Inuyasha! Though I am sure it's one of our greatest dreams! *cries***

**Chapter 3: When Justice fails you**

It was Inuyasha that woke me up the next morning. Groggily, I pushed his hand away several times before finally getting up. He was already in the bathroom, probably washing his teeth with baking soda from the wine we had last night. (I had ordered two glasses apart from our regular drinks with the first waiter, but he drank both of them.) I walked to the bathroom and poked him.

"Inuyasha, can't you take a hint of when I want to keep sleeping?" I asked, hands on my hips.

He rinsed out his mouth and turned to me, chuckling. "I love you too, Kagome." He leaned in, probably just for a light kiss, but I had a better idea. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed back, not letting go. Finally, when we needed the air, we separated.

He laughed. "What a way to start the morning." He glanced at his watch. "I have to go now. Class starts in half an hour and yours in one hour. You might want to get ready."

"Oh, okay." I kissed him on his cheek as he left the bathroom. Dejectedly, I looked at myself in the mirror. I touched my now shoulder length hair and sighed. If only I had a hair-growth serum for it. I loved how long it used to be, but now… I decided not to think about it and to take a bath. After last night, kami knew I needed to shower.

As I showered, I wondered whether or not the fire was an accident. It had come from the kitchen, so it probably was one. I was just glad nothing really bad happened to me or Inuyasha. I came out the shower and dried myself quickly and walked into my room. I turned on the television, watching as the news channel came on. I walked into my closet to put on my clothes, when something in the media caught my ears.

_"There was another break in the fire at the La belle restaurant last night. It appears that it was arson, but the police have no suspects or leads. It occurred around nine last night, and burned the kitchen as well as part of the dining area. It will be closed until further notice."_

Arson? The fire was a set up? I paused as I grabbed my socks and my shoes. I didn't want to believe it, not one bit. It had to be a coincidence; I was done with all the drama of my life. Especially the life-threatening part. I quickly donned on my shoes and grabbed my books and headed to my car.

Oh yeah, I had forgotten to mention my car. You see, Inuyasha's wedding present to me was this fabulous, green, and oh-so updated sports car! He knew how much it had pained me in my senior year of high school to practically be the only senior without a car. I was so happy that he had remembered.

It made my little package of cologne look like crap.

I got in and quickly turned the key in the ignition. As I drove to the college, my thoughts wandered again to the fire from last night. I convinced myself it was nothing to worry about. All the people who wanted me dead were either loopy in an asylum (Kikyo) or locked up behind bars (Naraku and Takeshi). There was absolutely, positively no reason to think that the fire had been started to endanger my life.

Right?

I parked my car close to the main entrance and pulled out my schedule. My first class was Journalism, since Inuyasha convinced me to take up my passion for it once more. I also had an art and photography class, along with a Math and English. I also had a creative writing class to boost my essays for Journalism. I was a little rusty from not writing all those years, but things were finally lightening up on me. I had no job to keep up with, but it sort of made me sad not to see all my friends.

I checked my watch and realized I only had fifteen minutes to find my class. I _so_ did not want to be late on my first day of college and I had to admit, it was like High School all over again. The butterflies, the anxiety, the sight of people barfing into trash cans on their first day... you know. All the regular stuff.

I took a deep breath to calm the butterflies that were performing Chinese acrobatics in my stomach and walked in. I glanced around and was mesmerized by how gorgeous the college was. I nodded to myself, completely satisfied with my choice. Ayame and Kouga had no idea of what they were missing.

I quickly found my way to my first class, Photography. Imagine the squeals that were heard when I saw Sango already sitting down. Miroku was there too, but most likely he had taken the class to be near Sango. Go figure.

"Sango, I'm so glad we have a class together!" I squealed, receiving many glares from the rest of the people who were in there. I glared at them and they quickly turned around to mind their own business.

Sango jumped up and down. I think there was still a lot of High school insomnia in us. "I know, I was totally wishing up and down that you and I would have a couple of classes here on campus! Do we have any others?"

The rest of the time was spent pouring over schedules, much like how we used to do it in High School. We figured that out of our six classes, we had five together. The only class we didn't have was Art, but it was the last class of the day. I could make it without Sango there, couldn't I?

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I walked into Art somewhat unsettled, but that might be because of my paranoia. All day in my classes I had been hearing about the fire from the restaurant. I had kept my mouth shut about being there though, because I didn't want to attract attention to myself so early into the semester. I took my seat near the window, facing the other building, where Inuyasha probably was. He was majoring in business and finances, but to me, that career path suited him. Just like how mine fit me.

Hmm, if I thought about it, all of my friends seemed to have chosen a major that suited them. Well, everyone except Miroku maybe. If there was a lecherous major, he would have been the first to sign up. Sango was majoring in Landscape Photography. (Her dream was to be able to get her pictures on the back of postcards. To each their own.)

Ayame was majoring in Fashion designing, while her fiancée, Kouga, was also majoring in business and finances with Inuyasha. Ayame's dream (which was summed to be Kouga's dream also) was to own her own store, full of clothes of her own design. She also wanted to make her own trademark and clothesline. I understood why she would want that.

You might ask, what's my dream?

Well, I think I already have it. My dream was to get married with the man I loved and live happily ever after. So far, it's all been good, but if I had to choose, I would love to make my own newspaper or magazine. Journaling would always be the thing with me.

I had completely zoned out when suddenly, I felt a chill in the air. It was vaguely familiar to me. I brushed it off, already freaked out by other things. Besides, I was having a good time thinking about mine and my friends' dreams and futures.

But then I heard his voice, and even if I had tried really hard, I wouldn't have been able to keep the fear out of my eyes.

"Kagome, dear, you cut your hair. The new look suits you."

I could never mistake that silky, falsely soothing voice. I stood up and faced my worse fear embodied in human form.

Takeshi's strange, and piercing, violet eyes held me almost in a spell. He was still as handsome, his hair ruffled up in a roguish way that made all the other women in the class swoon. To me, it was the symbol of his rebellion, his cold and uncaring brittleness. It made the hairs on my neck stand up at full attention.

My voice was shaky, but I tried to not let it show. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in jail!"

Takeshi clucked his tongue and placed a finger on my lips to silence me. I was so shocked that I didn't move. His finger was cold and almost lifeless. "Now, Kagome, I'm sure your mother taught you not to yell other people's business, didn't she? It would be a shame for you to yell my business right now."

I slapped away his hand and glared at him, the fear replaced by anger. "You're a bloodthirsty murderer, Takeshi. I don't give a damn of what you think." I hissed. I took a step back, but he took a step forward. He gave me an easy-going smile.

"I was let out on parole because of good behavior." Suddenly, he frowned, something very uncommon for him to do. "I have no reason to hurt you anymore. I am a changed man, Kagome."

_Yeah and I'm the queen of Sheba!_

"You don't really expect me to believe that? After all you did?" I hissed, whispering very loudly. He glanced at the others before smiling at me once again.

"I'm not here to hurt you or mess up your life, Kagome. Just think of me as a normal, functioning adult in society." He turned and walked away to sit in his seat, not waiting for my response. I was still kind of scared at him being in the same room. What were those parole people thinking releasing Takeshi? He was a murderer, A FREAKING BLOODTHIRSTY MURDERER! I'm _not_ crazy for thinking this. I AM NOT CRAZY

I stood up from my seat and made sure I was as far away from that man as I could be. Class started, but my thoughts were a jumble and a mess. I couldn't believe that the man who had wanted me dead so much had actually gotten out of jail and in the same college as me. It was too coincidental to just be a coincidence. Besides, he had a knack for acting like he was the role model of the community. I didn't believe any of the stupid crap he tried to sell. I felt like crying. It was all too much for me to handle at one time.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated and I picked it up to see who it was. It was a text from Sango.

_Kagome! Omg, I just saw you-know-who! Get out of there now!_

I snorted and texted back openly, since the teacher didn't even say a thing.

_And what? Give him the satisfaction of seeing me running away with my tail between my legs? No sir, not me!_

She texted back in less than a minute.

_So what do u want to do?_

I bit my lip in thought. The only way to be prepared with a murderer was to know everything about him, down to the type of toothpaste he used. If I could dig something up from his past, maybe I could find a weak link in his chain, and if I could find that weak link, maybe I could figure out how to get him in jail again, and this time, without parole.

_We're digging up some dirt tonight, Sango. Meet me at 'the echo' k? Bring your laptop._

The phone buzzed again.

_Ok, but why?_

I smiled devilishly.

_You'll see!_

I leaned back in my chair, a smile of victory already on my face. My plan was brilliant, foolproof even. Takeshi was going to be sitting behind bars even if it was the last thing I do. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I failed to notice that class had finally ended. I stood up and grabbed my things, intending to get out of there fast. On my way, I bumped into a girl.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I—"

When I looked up, I thought I was looking at Takeshi again, but I quickly realized it was a girl. She had jet black hair that was cut short, a little above her shoulders and that was adorned with a small red bow.. Her eyes were also the same violet of Takeshi's eyes. She frowned at me and pushed me out the way.

"Move it or lose it, princess."

My mouth fell open as I watched the girl walk up to Takeshi, grab his shirt and pull him down to her lips. It was really a disgusting sight to see someone actually touch, let alone, kiss that deranged man.

I ran out to my car, got in and put the pedal to the metal. I got home faster that I would have thought. Inuyasha, who left earlier than me from college, met me with a smile and a kiss.

"How was your day, Kagome?"

I tried to smile but I sort of grimaced. He pulled me toward the couch and we sat down. He held my hand and looked at my seriously.

"Kagome, what's wrong?"

I tried to downplay it. "Oh, nothing, nothing at all! Everything's just fine!"

He rolled his eyes. "Kagome…"

I really didn't want to tell him for two reasons. One, he was going to flip and start acting super possessive (but I don't mind it much) and then number two was that he would try to get me out of my plan, even when he knew it was the perfect plan. Still, he's my husband; I don't think I should keep secrets from him. He might start accusing me later that I had lied to him or something, and Kami knows I don't need any additional drama in my life. I laid out the bomb, praying that he wouldn't overreact _too_ much. I held his hand tightly.

"Takeshi is back."

Inuyasha stilled, and his eyes locked with mine. For a second, I thought he was okay, but surddenly he stood up, the anger in his eyes prominent. He was at the door before I could register anything.

I jumped up after him. "Inuyasha, where are you going?"

He turned around, still livid. "Well, obviously, I going to find Takeshi and break his face."

He started to open the door but I blocked the way. "Inuyasha, I know you want to beat the crap out of him and I'm not against it or anything, but think before you do it!" I grabbed his hands. "According to the community, Takeshi is just another, regular adult. If you do anything, even if we both know he's a killer, it'll give him the chance to throw you in jail." I squeezed his hands, my eyes searching his. "Don't give him that chance."

He sighed and I let go of his hands. He ran a hand through his hair. "Then what the hell are we supposed to do? Do nothing? Kagome, we're gonna be like sitting ducks!"

I pulled him into the living room again. "I know, Inuyasha, but that's why I have a plan." I grinned and he raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of plan?"

I avoided his gaze. "Oh, it's nothing big, really. We're just going to find something that will definitely incriminate him and put him behind bars for good. You know, go through his personal files."

Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Nothing big, huh?" He pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "Kagome, are you hearing yourself?"

I frowned. "At least it's safer than going and trying to beat him up."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes again. You know, that was really getting on my nerves. "Even if you could do it, how would you break into his personal files?"

I grinned. "Inuyasha, there are some things I can do that are better not spoken of. I had an old friend who taught me how to hack into computer systems and what not. I think I can handle it."

"Let me guess, Sango is helping you with this, isn't she?"

I smiled wide, watching him as he sighed. Suddenly, I felt his arms around me. I wrapped my arms around him as he kissed my hair.

I hugged him tighter. "Inuyasha, you don't have to worry. I'm not going to let him get to me this time. I'll be ready."

Inuyasha pulled back and gave me a light, chaste kiss. He grinned crookedly. "Kagome, do you think I doubt you? I'm just a little… overprotective, I guess. With what happened last night with the fire…"

"Did you hear that it was arson?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I did." He cupped my cheek in his hand. "Can't you see, Kagome? I'm just worried. I don't want to lose you."

I gave him a small smile. "You won't, I promise." I stretched and gave him a kiss. He returned the kiss with as much fervor, his hand leaving my cheek to entangle itself in my hair. I tried to convey to him in that kiss that I was his forever and that I would be okay. I just wanted him to feel better. I wrapped my arms around his neck as the kiss deepened. All thoughts left my brain as he placed his hand on my hips, pulling me closer to him.

I knew we were getting carried away, but who cared at the moment? Not me. He started to pull me closer and closer to our bedroom, but right when he was going to say the words, my phone rang loudly. I jumped and so did Inuyasha.

Inuyasha looked at my phone with an upset look. "Damn."

I giggled and took my phone out. "Inuyasha, I have to go. We'll continue this later." I gave him a devilish smile, but he pulled me back to him. He pressed his lips to mine once more and then let me go.

"That's a down payment." He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I laughed and walked to the door. I waved to him as I closed the door, and I thought I saw his face morph into worry again.

I sighed. Nothing would really calm him down.

Hurriedly, I walked to my car and returned the call I had ignored. Sure enough, it was Sango who had called. She was always the one to interrupt my intimate moments with Inuyasha.

_"Kagome? I've been waiting for half an hour! Where are you?"_ she whined.

I huffed. "I'm on my way." I opened my car door and shut it once the car was on. I kept the phone on my ear as I backed out onto the dirt road leading to my house.

_"Great!" _she squealed. After a moment's hesitation, she asked. _"I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?"_

I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn't see. "Well, what do you think?"

Sango got the message. _"Oh my gosh, Kagome, I'm so sorry! I'm a horrible friend! I won't even let you and Inuyasha—"_

"Anyway," I interrupted loudly, before she could go on. "Do you have everything I asked you to bring?"

"_Yep! My computer is charged and ready to go."_

I smiled. "Great. I'll be there in ten."

_"See ya."_

I hung up quickly as I made it onto the highway. It was fifteen minutes later that I finally got there. Sango was sitting on the rooftop of her car, typing on her computer. She saw me and smiled.

"Hey, Kagome! Are you ready to tell me what we're going to be doing?"

I nodded, leaning against her car. "We're going to hack into Takeshi's permanent record and figure him out. I have to be one step ahead of him if we want to get him behind bars."

"Hack? But Kagome, I don't know how to hack into anything!" She looked at me.

I grinned once more as I grabbed her computer and set it on the truck of her car. "You're not. I am."

She watched in amazement as I began to browse the internet. First, I needed to make sure no one could trace us back to this computer. I pulled a flash drive from my pocket and inserted into the computer. It would mask the IP address so no one would figure out who did it. After I made sure we were untraceable, I hacked into the city's permanent files. It took me a while to get past all of the walls and passwords, but eventually I was able to pass into it. I quickly pulled up Takeshi's file. Multiple red writing was on it.

"Got it!"

Sango glanced at me and then back at the file. Takeshi's picture was on it. "Kagome, I will never doubt you again."

I waved a hand at her. "Yeah, whatever." I pointed to the screen. "Read this, Sango,"

Sango read out loud.

"Takeshi Terra—has been charged with multiple arson charges, multiple murder charges and drug possession." She read on by herself. "This guy's been in and out of jail his whole life! And there," she pointed to the screen. "He was charged and convicted of murdering a little girl." Sango looked disgusted as I shook my head.

How the heck was this guy out and about?

I scrolled down the screen. "It says here he was let out on parole after five years. The people who let him out kept raving about how _decent_ and _changed_ the man was. Changed my butt! How could they so stupid?"

Sango shook her head. "He's manipulative, isn't he? He had the whole council wrapped around his finger."

I nodded. "And he did it again." I slammed my fist onto the car, making Sango jump. "This is ridiculous!"

Sango sighed. "I know, but what can we do? The justice system won't take a look at him unless we can prove that he did something wrong, that he slipped up."

I glanced at her, crossing my arms. "Last night, Inuyasha and I went out to eat at this really fancy French restaurant. _La belle_, if I recall correctly."

"Isn't' that where that fire was?"

I nodded. "I'm sure it was him! How coincidental can it be for him to magically appear the day after the fire and day it's announced it was arson? His file says it all," I indicated to the computer screen. "Arson must be his favorite pastime."

"But how can we prove it? They already let him out of jail twice!" Sango wailed, crossing her arms as well.

It was getting dark, and the stars were starting to come out. I looked up, admiring them. "When justice fails you," I paused, glancing at Sango. "You have to take justice into your own hands."

"I hope you're right, Kagome." She sighed, looking at the stars with me. "I really hope you're right."

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And so we did take justice into our own hands. Takeshi had a very extensive file so we decided that we would meet at my house the next day to keep looking at his stuff. I told her that we could use my home computer this time. I was about to turn away, when I saw something glint off her finger.

"Sango?" I grabbed her hand, a smile creeping onto my face. "Did Miroku finally—?"

Sango beamed. "Yes, he proposed to me last night! I was going to tell but you seemed so worked about the Takeshi thing and I thought you had enough on your mind."

"What?" I squealed. "How could you even think that? This is great news!" I hugged her tightly. "We have so much to do! Have you thought of who you want to be your Maid of Honor?"

Sango nodded. "I want you do it, Kagome."

My jaw dropped. "Me? You want me to do it?"

She smiled nodding.

I was surprised, since I thought she wanted Ayame to do it, but wow! Maid of Honor? I squealed and jumped at the idea. I hugged her extra tight this time.

"Sango, you're the best! I promise it'll be the best wedding ever!"

Sango laughed. "I thought you weren't going to be available, because of Ayame's wedding, but since she's planning it by herself I knew you could do it."

I laughed. "Yeah, I offered to help Ayame but she's very confident. She didn't want to do the whole 'Maid of Honor' thing. She's being very untraditional." I remembered our last conversation about it. "It's going to interesting." I laughed.

"Well, I have to go, Kagome. I still have to tell Ayame and Kouga."

I nodded and let her go. "I'll see you tomorrow at my house! Right after classes!"

She nodded and waved, getting in her car. I walked to my own and got in. I checked the backseat, just in case. I shook my head at my paranoia. It was senior year all over again.

I drove back home, thinking about what I had found out. Takeshi was actually convicted of a murder, a little girl no less. Imagine what he could do to me? I shuddered at the thought. Hopefully, this whole thing would blow over soon. I pulled onto the driveway and parked the car.

I walked inside and found Inuyasha asleep on the couch. I smiled as I watched him. Even when I had seen him sleep so many times, he still took my breath away. I grabbed a blanket from the hallway closet and draped it over him. I walked into the kitchen, and was about to prepare dinner for when Inuyasha woke up, when something caught my eye.

I was shocked into silence when I saw it. It was draped gracefully over a note. I grabbed the note and opened it up with shaky hands.

_Watch your back, or someone might just stab you there. Beware, your enemy is near._

It wasn't signed, but I didn't even have to see a signature to know who it was. I picked up the flower knowing exactly which one it was. A monkshood. Its blue petals were vibrant, as if it was freshly picked and there were no signs of it dying.

He must've been here just before I got here. Maybe he even saw me before he left. I shuddered as different scenarios morphed in my mind. I carefully laid the flower on the counter and walked to where Inuyasha was.

Very carefully, I checked to make sure he was alright. Nothing was out of the normal. I sighed in relief and closed my eyes. I was hoping he would only target me, but it seemed that it wouldn't be that way. I laid my head down near, Inuyasha, the food in the kitchen all but forgotten. Tears came unbidden and I cried softly, so as not to wake Inuyasha up.

Suddenly, I felt arms around me. I glanced up to see Inuyasha looking at me with worry.

"What's wrong?" He gave me a small kiss on my forehead and he wiped the tears away from eyes.

I clutched his shirt. "Oh, Inuyasha, why does my life have to be so complicated?" I buried my head into his shirt and continued to cry, louder this time. He just held me tight, whispering, soothing me.

By the time I stopped crying, I was so tired that my eyelids were drooping. The last thing I felt was Inuyasha carrying me to bed. He leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"I'll never let anything happen to you."

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**Daichi: So what do you guys think? Was this good? Please review! The story is getting a lot more deeper! **

**So what's Takeshi really up to? Has he really changed for the good or has he changed for the worse? And who's his girlfriend? Does Kagome have to be careful around her too? Tune in for the next chapter!**


	4. The enemy's facade

**A/N: Chapter for you guys! This is courtesy of Bella!**

**Disclaimer: Neither I or Bella own Inuyasha. It's what we got to deal with.**

**Chapter 4: The enemy's ****façade **

We were entering into our third week of the semester this upcoming week and strangely, not much had happened. Takeshi had been on his best behavior other than the occasional lustful glance in my direction, I still didn't trust him though, and had been set on edge ever since I got the note from him. I went to buy a pocketknife and even a new bottle of mace but now, it was beginning to seem as if maybe I were a bit paranoid. Inuyasha never said anything about it but I could tell that it annoyed him. Whenever I tried to bring the subject up he would get tight lipped, or his face would change to an expression that meant his didn't want to talk about it before he would change the subject by pointing something out. I really didn't talk to Inuyasha about the possible troubles that could form with Takeshi anymore but I thought about it all the time. It was always lurking in the back of my mind, stealing my thoughts like a thief. I tried not to think about this and sat on the bed with my journal and sketchbook. I needed to start a rough draft of an article for journalism and have two sketches by Thursday. For art I could draw whatever I wanted just as long as I drew it just as it was; for the journal I had an idea of what I wanted to do. It was only Sunday but I wanted to get a head start on my work because Sango and I were supposed to be meeting up all this week to see if we could dish out more information on Takeshi and I knew that it would take up quite some time, so I started on my article which was going to be about the panda cow.

One hour and a trillion pages later I still had nothing. Every time I began to write the paper just didn't seem right. The words didn't add up or the paragraphs didn't flow. The paper was starting to sound amateur and clichéd. Not only that but the topic wasn't anything I was interested in and you could tell when you read the paper. This wouldn't catch anyone's attention. Hell, I wrote the thing and even I lost focus when I read it. I refused to turn in anything that wouldn't catch the reader's eyes; it just wouldn't do. I let out a frustrated cry and threw my journal atop the nightstand with my sketchbook.

"You should take a break; you've been working too hard." Inuyasha said into my ear while squeezing my shoulders. He began to massage my back and I let out a little moan. I could feel him working the knots out and boy did it feel good. "Let's go take a swim." Inuyasha said and motioned to the window that revealed the dark summer night.

"I don't have a swimming suit," I said feeling confused for a second. "And it's like nine at night."

"I know." Inuyasha whispered huskily. He gave me a flirty grin and kissed my shoulder. I laughed and shook my head as I understood. How could I have missed the innuendo in that?

"As much as I want to, I really need to finish up at least one of these assignments. Sorry hon." Inuyasha shrugged nonchalantly and walked over to his side of the bed and changed into his pajamas.

"I should probably be getting to bed anyhow." He punched his pillows a few times before laying down; he looked up at me for a moment. "Are you sure you don't want to join me?" he asked with a hopeful look in his eyes. I could tell that he didn't want to be alone right now. I actually felt the same way. I really wanted nothing more than to curl up against his side or to snuggle into his chest, but I had to get something done tonight. I glanced longingly at him for a moment before telling him that I would have to pass. He didn't reply. I knew he understood but that didn't stop me from feeling like the world's worst wife ever.

Inuyasha was asleep in a few minutes. I know that I've watched him sleep a million times but I never got over the initial shock of how beautiful he looked; I know he would object to my saying so, but I really meant it. His face went completely slack and he seemed totally at ease, there were no worry lines on his face. His pale skin was flawless and he looked as if he could've been chiseled out of marble. I unthinkingly reached out to push a few stray strands from his face and began to stroke his hair. He shifted towards me in the slightest bit and a contented sigh escaped his lips. I smiled softly as an idea dawned on me. Trying not to disturb Inuyasha, I reached over him and grabbed my sketch book.

I looked up from the finished sketch to find Inuyasha's golden eyes fixated on me.

"You done?" He asked sleepily, his eyes still half lidded.

"For now," I said nodding. Inuyasha opened his arms and motioned for me to come to him. I all too willingly crawled across the bed and onto his chest. I nestled my head into the space between his neck and shoulder and Inuyasha wrapped his arms around me.

"So sleepy." Inuyasha drawled out. I sympathetically patted his chest.

"It's late. Go back to sleep," I said softly. Inuyasha shook his head and tightened his grip on me. "I'll stay, I promise." I pulled the cover up around us and listened to Inuyasha's breathing as he fell back asleep.

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I jolted awake from a sound later that night; Inuyasha was propped up on his elbows, his body rigid beneath mine. His eyes were alert. "Did you hear that crash?" I asked, my voice trembling more than I thought it would.

"Yes," He nodded. "Let me go see what it was." He said putting me aside. It was quiet for a few minutes, and then there was a strangely familiar smell that I couldn't place. I tentatively got out of bed and made my way down the hall. The further down the hall I went, the stronger the smell got and then I began to see smoke. I started to freak out. Where was Inuyasha? I tried to fan the smoke from my face but it kept getting thicker and thicker until all I could see was the swirling tendrils of smoke.

"Yash?" I choked out in between coughs. I didn't get an answer. Where was he? Our house really wasn't that big. I felt a hand on my shoulder and began to scream but my scream was cut off by a rag that was slapped over my face that was wet with something. I started to panic and was about to kick whoever it was behind me when I heard Inuyasha's voice. "Keep this to your face." He said grabbing my by the arm and towing me outside. "Don't come back in, don't! No matter what, stay out here." He warned me before heading back the way he had came. I didn't know what he was doing but I was sure that he needed to come out too; he had been around the smoke longer than I had and I was already starting to get a headache. I stood outside and hoped it wouldn't take too long.

I sat in the cold plastic chair with my head in my hands. I ran my fingers through the hair pulling at it from the ends. A little after Inuyasha had come out of the house he started coughing really badly and couldn't catch his breath .

"Inuyasha!" I panicked. He sounded pretty bad.

"It's," he said between coughs, "Nothing,"

I shook my head and quickly pulled him to my car. I had grabbed my keys just in case as I had left the house. Thank goodness I had left them hanging next to the door. He kept coughing all the way to the emergency room. During the whole ride, I was scared that he would stop breathing and something even worse would happen. As they wheeled him away, I had to close my eyes and forget the horrible image of Inuyasha, deathly pale and not moving.

And so I waited.

I only knew that he had inhaled a lot of smoke, but I didn't know how badly and I didn't know if he was doing better or not because I hadn't been told anything yet. I was starting to feel sick because I was tired and hungry and I just wished that someone would come tell me how Inuyasha was doing before I pulled out what hair I had left.

Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore the doctor appeared, his lips in a grim line. I immediately stood up to face him. "How is he?" I asked. The doctor took of his glasses and looked at me with a serious look. "We've ran a few tests and everything seems to be okay; he just has a mild case of smoke inhalation. It's nothing too bad. We're giving him pure 100 percent oxygen right now to bring his oxygen levels back up. I just wanted to tell you, he's going to be alright but there are a few things that I should warn you about. First, he's going to have sensitivity in his chest area, he's been coughing for quite some time and he's been coughing pretty hard so the muscles are sore. Secondly, he's going to have some shortness of breath. It's going to take a while for this to go away so please don't let him overexert himself. I'm going to go ahead and release him but I think he should spend the day resting. I've prescribed some inhalers for him to help him breathe. One he has to take every so often, the other is specifically for when he feels as if he really can't breathe."

"Okay," I said, nodding enthusiastically. "Anything to help Inuyasha."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x At first, I thought I could talk him out of going to school for today, but boy, was I wrong.

"Inuyasha, you can't go to school!" I shouted at him, hands in the air. Inuyasha didn't look at me as he commenced with drying himself off after a quick shower.

"I'm fine." He said, his voice sounding as if he had just eaten sandpaper. He was _so_ not fine.

He started to get dressed and was headed for the door when I grabbed his arm. "Please, just one day, Inuyasha." I pleaded. "Do it for me; it'd make me feel better." He looked at me for a long moment but shook his head. "I can only miss class twice. If I'm going to miss I want to miss when I actually need to. I feel fine Kagome." Inuyasha stopped to take a breath, I could tell that he hoped I wouldn't notice, but I did.

"Look at you! You can't even say a few sentences without being winded! You need to stay _home_ Inuyasha." My eyes were starting to water; I just wanted him to be okay but he was fighting me and making things complicated. Couldn't he just give me the satisfaction of taking care of him for one day for my own reassurance? If he could just randomly throw me out of the house so I wouldn't get hurt then I should be able to do this _something_ for him. Still, Inuyasha picked up his backpack.

I was at my wit's end. "Why are you so damn pigheaded?" I yelled. My face started to crumple and I turned away, refusing to cry in front of him. I started to take the sheets off of the bed so I could wash them; I needed something to do. Plus, I needed get rid of the smoky smell.

"Kagome," I continued with my task. If I spoke I was liable to cry. "Kagome, if it makes you feel better I'll only go to one class. You can pick me up after my business class and you can take care of me then. How's that sound?"

"Sounds okay." I mumbled, pausing in my task.

"Okay, I'm catching a ride with Miroku so I'll see you later. I'll be waiting outside the building for you."

I turned to him and nodded. "Ok."

I ditched class that day too, knowing that I just needed a little bit of solitude. I spent the next two hours that Inuyasha was gone trying to air out the house, there was still a smoky haze in the air but it wasn't all that bad and you couldn't really smell the smoke anymore. I hadn't been able to find what had caused the smoke and wasn't sure if there had been a fire or not but we had a broken window in our living room. I was in the corner of the room trying to clean all of the broken glass up when I noticed something.

It was a small envelope and a monkshood.

I sighed and turned away. I didn't want to read anymore of the notes. I didn't even want to touch this one. I cleaned up the rest of the glass and had washed or used air freshener on just about every cloth surface our house had and showered before I went back to the spot where I saw the note.

I didn't touch it though.

I drew a picture of the envelope and the flower in the smoky haze that remained before tucking the note into the back of my sketchbook and throwing away the flower. I held it daintily with two fingers before tossing it into the somewhat unused area of our backyard where I wouldn't have to see it. It didn't take me long to drive to the university, I parked in the student parking lot and began the walk over to where I knew Inuyasha would be waiting. Suddenly, someone grabbed me by the waist and I turned, finding myself looking into familiar violet eyes.

"Where are you going in such a rush?"

I shivered a bit, realizing it was Takeshi. I tried to pull away but he had a firm grasp on me. "You okay?" His eyes were concerned. What the hell was this? Why was he trying to play the nice guy all of a sudden?

My gut was yelling at me to get away. "I have to go." I said, but Takeshi still wouldn't let me go. He pulled my closer so that I was pressing into him.

"I'm worried about you Kagome, dear." His hand swept across my face in a gesture that I would've found comforting if it had been issued by anyone other than him. And did he just call me dear?

Oh, hell no.

"Let me go Takeshi!" I said, pushing away from him. "Now!" I added when he still refused to move. Takeshi reluctantly let me go and I rushed away from him.

Okay, that was weird, and disturbing. What the hell was his problem? It was like I had suddenly become his wife or something. And what about the girl he was sucking face with the last time? I had seen them a couple of times together, and each time I did they were abnormally close. They had to be a couple.

I didn't like any of this at all. I was still thinking about how uncomfortable it made me feel when I reached Inuyasha.

"You okay?" Inuyasha asked; the rasp in his voice was a bit softer but still evident. I decided not to tell him, because he'd be at Takeshi's throat in a heartbeat pounding his heart out and I'm pretty sure that goes under "exertion".

"Yeah." I tried to give a smile. "Just tired. You take your inhaler?" I asked apprehensively.

"Yup." Inuyasha gave me with a worn out grin.

"Let's go home and crash." I said wrapping my arms around him.

He laughed and gripped me tighter. As we made our way to the car, I remembered the note. I knew that even though I didn't want to open it, I would have to. I dreaded the idea.

Why couldn't my life just be normal?

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**A/N: Hey! This was a great chapter, Bella! You guys, show your support by reviewing! This story is one of the rare stories I update frequently, and that's because Bella can keep up with the updates! Much love to all the readers and reviewers!**

**~Daichi**


	5. Just when it couldn't get worse

**A/N: Hey you guys! Applauses for Bella with the last chapter! Now here is the fifth chapter of ATHME, by me, Daichi! I hope you guys like it and review it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha**

**Chapter 5: Just when it couldn't get worse**

"Are you serious? He did that?" Sango exclaimed in wonder, after I told her what had happened with Takeshi the day before. It was in the early afternoon of a glorious Saturday and we were at the malt shop in a small booth near the window. I sat apprehensive. We spent hours before scouring all the documents we could to find something to incriminate Takeshi with, but so far our efforts had turned up nothing.

"Kagome, don't worry." Sango laid a hand over my outstretched one, trying to reassure me. I gave her a strained smile but then frowned.

"I just wish I knew how he did it." I sighed angrily. "He's been charged with everything in the book and no one seems to get him behind bars for good! Not even my kidnapping." I closed my eyes, frustrated that nothing could be done. The one man who deserved the death penalty times one hundred gazillion was the one who walked freely at night. Since that day I found the note after the smoke appeared, I hadn't touched it. I didn't even want to think about it.

Sango sympathized with me. "I know Kagome. I think it's horrible that he's still out." She sipped her strawberry milkshake. "And what's worse, he's actually trying to assimilate into the social wellness of our society!"

"English, Sango."

She sighed, giving me a look. "I mean that he's trying to be like everyone else." She then gave me a look. "And him hugging you and talking to you that way is just _gross_." She wrinkled her nose at me. "Did you tell Inuyasha?"

I jumped. "No! I can't tell Inuyasha, especially not now." I had already explained what happened the night he had to go to the hospital and she shared my belief that it wasn't an accident. "If tell him, he'll be gone before I could talk him out of it. Then, _he'll_ be the one in trouble."

Sango nodded and then spoke. "Are you sure we've looked at everything?"

I nodded. "I made sure to get documents from everywhere. The government's, the international archives, and every document that contained his name across the face of the planet!"

"Those are just documents. Couldn't we talk to somebody?"

I sat up straighter. "That's a great Idea, Sango! We can get a witness!"

Sango then shook her head, rethinking her idea. "One problem. We don't know anyone who might have anything to talk about, do you?"

I thought about it and a light bulb lit up in my head in a flash. We did have someone to talk to, someone who had already been directly involved with Takeshi, someone who would gladly give us information to incarcerate him for good.

We both smiled at the same time. "You thinking… what I'm thinking?"

Sango stood up, a smile wide on her face. "Oh yeah."

I grabbed my chocolate shake and drank the last bit before slapping a bill onto the table. It was enough for a good tip too.

"Let's go."

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We got to my mother's house in less than an hour. I hadn't been back since I had left after the wedding, so seeing my mom was a plus for me and Sango. She took care of Sango's brother while Sango went to college and she did it free of charge.

My mother was happy to see us. "Kagome, Sango! Come in, dears. I just made some brownies that you'll just love!"

My mouth watered as the smell of my mom's brownies reached my nose. "I'm happy to see you too Mom. How have things been?"

"Oh, it's been a little lonely without you, but I can't complain." I followed her to the kitchen, Sango trailing behind us. She turned to me and grinned. "Any grandkids on the way?"

I shook my head, laughing. "Mom, we're both still in school. Besides, kids can come later once we're settled down with jobs. Inuyasha still doesn't like getting money from his father."

She nodded, taking out the brownies from the oven. "I guess he wouldn't."

I grinned. "You know him."

She put a plate on the table, loaded with big, soft pieces of brownies. I couldn't resist and so I grabbed one, but Sango reached for the same one at the same time.

I narrowed my eyes. "Sango, if you want to keep living, let go of the brownie."

Sango narrowed her eyes at me as well. "Try me."

So we stood there, staring each other down as much as we possibly could. This was actually nothing new between Sango and me. When we both wanted something, we would stare each other down or something like that and the one who looked away lost.

Oh, and I should probably mention I always win.

"Fine." Sango conceded, letting go of the brownie. "You win."

"Ha!" I jumped and grabbed brownie and right when I was going to bite it, Sango grabbed my hand and smashed the brownie I was holding onto my face.

My mother sighed and walked out the kitchen, muttering under her breath about how we were going to waste such good brownies as she went.

I glanced at Sango as I removed the brownie from my face. She was laughing so hard that she was having trouble breathing.

"This means war."

I grabbed a brownie from the plate and just walked up to her, smothering her face with the warm, gooey brownie. She stood there shocked for a moment, but she grabbed another brownie and threw it at my shirt.

Soon, a whole brownie food fight ensued. Bits of brownies were falling everywhere, landing on their targets with gasps of "My shirt is _ruined_!", "My jeans! MY PERFECTLY GOOD JEANS!" and "You're gonna pay for that!" Battle cries came from both sides as the brownie pellets were thrown. The fight was so gruesome, my mother nor any of my family members didn't bother to stop it.

Finally, we both raised our white flags. Sango and I had exhausted our brownie supply and we ended up on the floor, all covered in brownie stains. I saluted her military style.

"Good work there, soldier."

Sango laughed. "Lame, Kagome." She sat up. "We acted like little kids again." She smiled. "It was fun."

I sat up and laughed. "Oh yeah. We should have more food fights like this to relieve stress, but how about next time we include Inuyasha and the others. They would love it."

Sango nodded, standing up and pulling me up with her. "Yep. But right now, we have people to talk to."

"What happened here?"

We turned at the sound of the voice and we saw that it was Kagura, shopping bags and all in hand. She looked at us as if we had lost our minds. But hey, maybe we _had_ lost our minds.

"Kagura! Just the person I wanted to see." I smiled, folding my hands together.

Kagura grinned and rolled her eyes playfully. "And what do the children want now?"

Sango pouted. "We're not children."

Kagura laughed. "Then stop pouting like one."

I muffled my laughter when Sango realized she was pouting and tried to change her facial expression. I continued on.

"Kagura, we really do need to talk to you about something. It's serious."

She switched arms holding her shopping bags. "I'm supposed to take you seriously when you're covered in brownies?" She chuckled, and then added, "You did leave some right? Your mom's brownies are to _die_ for."

"Kagura!"

"Okay, Okay!" she laughed and held her hands up in defense. "Let's just at least get you guys semi-cleaned up. I don't know if I can keep a straight face with you guys all dirty like that."

"Fine." Sango and I both groaned.

Sango and I hurried to the bathroom to try and get our faces cleaned up. Our clothes were already too far gone to save, casualties of the previously mentioned battle. Sango grunted at her jeans and then semi-glared at me.

"These really _were_ good jeans."

I pointed to my shirt. "Well, this _was_ a good shirt."

She stuck out her tongue and, being the child that I am, I blew a rasberry. Running out the bathroom, I ran to Kagura's room before Sango could catch me. Kagura was barely making it in, so I was saved by her presence. Sango wouldn't kill me in front of her. Right?

Kagura sat down on her bed and it was then I realized how much better she looked than the last time I had seen her. I think it was right before the trials (which didn't serve any purpose because the man of my nightmares was still prowling the night for me) and back then she had looked paler and frailer. Well, I guess she _had _survived a bullet shot.

"So what did you want to talk about, Kagome?" Kagura directed her question at me.

I sighed, suddenly serious. "It's about Takeshi."

Her hands clenched and her eyes narrowed. I'm guessing she doesn't like him at all. "Takeshi? What for?"

Sango answered for me. "He got out of jail, Kagura."

Her eyes bugged out. "What? I thought he was in for life!"

I shook my head. "He got out on parole. The justice system is screwed."

Kagura covered her mouth with her hands. "This is _so_ not good. That man is a psychopath. I should know."

I sat down, some of my journalist characteristics coming out. "Do you by chance know anything about him when he worked with Naraku?"

Kagura nodded. "Oh yeah, he was a big name underground for a long time. He had the ability to weasel out of anything, and I _mean_ anything." Kagura shook her head. "Naraku wanted him on his side because he was afraid of what he was capable of if he ever went against him."

Sango cursed under her breath, but I continued. "Do you know about anything he did that he was never tried for? Something you might have knowledge of?"

Kagura shook her head, disappointment written on her face. "I wish I had something that good. After Naraku started suspecting my loyalty, he didn't tell me much about what Takeshi did. All we knew is that he was the one to take care of his 'personal' business."

I nodded, letting the information sink in. "Hmm. Thanks for the info." I stood up abruptly and walked to the door. Sango followed suit, although

"Kagome," Kagura called, causing me to around. "I just want to mention that if Takeshi is after you now, he's probably acting on his own. Naraku has nothing to do with it this time."

I tilted my head, nodding. "That makes sense. There's no reason why Naraku should be out for me now." Well, aside from the fact that he's going to rot to hell in that jail he's in, but those are just minor details in the grand scheme of my short, seemingly too active life.

Sango looked confused. "But what could he gain with doing this? What exactly is he trying to accomplish now?"

I crossed my arms in thought. Sango was right. If Takeshi was after me now, it wasn't by orders of Naraku. There was something we wanted, and I'm sure he wanted it more now than ever. I leaned by the door and bit my lip in thought.

"Maybe he's after something different now," I spoke aloud. "But what could he be after?"

"Revenge?" Sango suggested.

I considered it. "That makes some sense. I mean, I did send him to jail and all. But why attack Inuyasha?"

Kagura tilted her head. "Inuyasha got hurt?"

I nodded. "It's a long story."

Kagura smiled. "I've got nothing but time."

And so I re-told what happened at the cottage a few days before. Kagura nodded as I talked and when I finished she spoke again.

"He might be trying to hurt him to hurt you. Whatever's your vulnerability, he'll use it to his advantage. He's seriously a pretty low guy. Hits below the belt, if you know what I mean."

I nodded. "Kagura, Sango and I are going to leave now. Thanks for helping us." I smiled and Kagura smiled back. I glanced at Sango and signaled her to the door.

We left without another word. I was sort of disturbed by some of the information we had just found out, although it didn't surprise me. There were so many things Takeshi had done in the past, some that were recorded and some that weren't. We really were dealing with a psychopath. I kissed my mother goodbye and Sango and I left.

Once in my car, Sango turned to me. "Kagome, why do you think he did hurt Inuyasha anyway?"

I shrugged, backing out of the driveway. "Well, when we were at Kikyo's house being hostages, Takeshi let something slip. He's usually pretty calm and cool, but he was beyond insane when he confronted me and Inuyasha. He was angry at Inuyasha for taking Kikyo away from him."

Sango's eyes bulged. "Kikyo? "

I nodded, my lips pressed together. "I'm pretty sure that he blames him for Kikyo liking him, and he blames me for putting her in the asylum. But I don't know why he would do that since he has a girlfriend now."

Sango shrugged and glanced out the window. "Maybe he's trying to get over it."

I scoffed at her suggestion. "Yeah, then why is he still acting like he's after my life?"

"I was just saying,"

I shook my head. "No, I think there's something way deeper here now. He acts one way one day and another next. I mean, he totally acts like he wants to…_do_ something to me." The infliction in my voice made Sango turn to me and arch and eyebrow.

"Do? What do you mean by 'do'?"

I sighed angrily. "Sango, do I have to spell it out? It's what Miroku wants out of you every night."

Sango playfully punched me. "Hey, I was just kidding. I understood what you meant." Then, she added under her breath. "And Miroku doesn't want it _every_ night. More like every other day."

I laughed. "But all the same, you don't give it to him."  
Sango grinned mischievously. "Nope." She laughed and then became serious again. "Since when has Takeshi been acting _that way_ with you? I mean, excluding what you already told me. When did it start?"

"Almost the day he came back. It's disgusting, really." I shuddered. "That's why I want him gone. I don't want to deal with him anymore."

Sango thought for a minute. "But why would he suddenly change from wanting to kill you to wanting to do _that _to you? Or maybe it's both now?"

I just shook my head, not bothering to answer. There were so many questions and not enough answers. The deeper we plunged, the murkier the water was getting. Nothing connected, nothing made sense enough to progress anywhere.

I dropped off Sango at her house a couple of minutes later. On my way home, I knew I would have to open that note Takeshi left. Eventually, I'd have to open and it, and better sooner than later. Hopefully, it could answer at least one of my questions.

Inuyasha was already home when I came back.

I glanced at him, realizing he was doing something in the kitchen. "Inuyasha, what are you doing?"

He turned around, giving me one those rare crooked grins. "Oh, just something for the world's most wonderful wife."

I chuckled, throwing my keys onto the couch. I tried to walk inside, but Inuyasha blocked me from getting inside.

"What?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Am I not allowed to go into my own kitchen?"

Inuyasha enveloped me in his arms and gave me one, long kiss. After he pulled away, much to my dislike, he noticed my clothes. "What happened?" he asked.

I laughed and sighed. "It's actually a pretty funny story. Sango and I—"

He put a finger to my lips before I could continue. "You can tell me after you've changed and eaten. I'll be in here if you need me." He let me go and walked into the kitchen, leaving me outside. I decided that the note could wait until after I got a shower.

I quickly got clean and changed into new clothes. I sniffed the air and almost died from how good it smelled. Whatever Inuyasha was cooking, I knew I would like it. Focusing away from the heavenly smell, I walked to one of the bedside cabinets, the one I had a key too. I took the key from the neck chain I kept on and opened the drawer. Only one thing was it there and that thing was Takeshi's note. I tore it open, preparing for the terrible things it might say. I read it silently to myself and I was sure surprised about what it said.

_**Dear wonderful, beautiful Kagome,**_

_**I cannot wait until I see you again and I'm sure you can't wait to see me. I know you're been trying to find out more things about me, but it won't work my devilish little devour. Don't do anything drastic now, my dear. It might end up with a knife in your back. I'll be waiting for the next time we embrace. **_

"What the hell?" I nearly choked on my saliva as I read the small, but disturbing note. Who the hell did does he think he is? Devilish devour? _Embrace_? Where the hell was he getting this stuff? Had he completely lost it?

I was so repulsed by the letter that I didn't notice the photos that had fallen out when I had opened the little enveloped. They were dated a while back, but what creeped me out was the fact that the pictures were candid photos. You know, the ones people take of you without you knowing? Well, he had bunches of them tied together. There was one of me at the restaurant where the fire had started, there was one of me lying down in my bed and the most disturbing of all was one where he took a photo of me changing. I wasn't really naked because only my back was showing and I still hadn't taken off my shirt all the way off, but come on! That is one seriously demented man. If it was up to me, he'd be right up there in the asylum with Kikyo.

"Kagome, dinner's ready!"

I nearly jumped out of my pants when Inuyasha called. I laid a hand over my heart to stop it from beating so fast and stood up to walk out of the room. Just as I was leaving, I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder.

Hey, I'm entitled to be paranoid when I have a freakin' stalker.

I tried to give Inuyasha a smile and it seemed to work, but inside, I was a mess. The food he made was delicious but that only made me feel worse. I felt like having Takeshi after me was like cheating on Inuyasha and not telling him was even worse. I went to bed troubled.

Inuyasha had already fallen asleep, but I was still wide awake. Before going to bed, I pulled all the curtains and made sure that all the doors were locked. It bothered me that someone could just invade my privacy and for me to not know. But I guess that's what stalking is, I guess.

As I laid there near Inuyasha, three things became clear to me. One, I was not going to get out of this as fast I had hoped, two, Takeshi had upgraded from bloody murderer to _psychotic_ bloody murderer/ stalker and three, I was definitely in a way bigger hole than before and it was only going to get worse from here.

Screw my life.

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**A/N: Hello again! I'm probably betting you guys want to know why this chapter is late, I suppose. Well, I was pushed behind on my writing for about a week. This chapter should have been finished last week, but between studying and HW (and I've fallen behind it that too) I couldn't even get one minute to spare. But I compensated, I think, with this chapter. So how did you like it? Was Takeshi creepy or what? I swear I got the chills writing that letter up there lol. **

**Maybe I'm getting **_**too **_**into my stories.**

**We're taking the story into a new direction, a direction I have never walked before. I think it'll work though. I have it all in my brain.**

**So, anyway, there's a new a poll on my website that I would like you guys to check out. There are a couple of stories that I have that haven't been updated, mainly because of the lack of response so now I really want to know: What story would you like me to update more frequently? Cast your vote to make sure you get your favorite story chosen to be updated to most. Details are on my profile.**

**REVIEW!**

**~Daichi**


	6. Attacked by the beast

**A/N: Okay you guys, I know this is late but Bella had some difficulties getting this chapter to me. Did everybody hear about the Artic blast we had last week? Well, that and other things, gave her complications. And if you think about it, the cold was really bad. Down in Texas, where I live and where the weather is mild, it dropped below freezing and stayed below forty degrees for a whole three days. Granted, it wasn't as bad like up north, but for Texas, it was pretty cold. Plus, the electricity went out too. So I hope you can understand the things both of us had to go through. Now, read the chapter. And for fair warning, there is a little "questionable" scene. Nothing explicit, I assure you, but I certainly freaked out when I read it. Kudos, Bella!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha.**

**Chapter 6: Attacked by the beast**

Inuyasha was finally feeling better, though he still had to take his inhalers, doctor's orders. Today he really had the urge to swim and begged me to join him so her e I was, perched atop an inflatable lounge in the middle of the pool soaking up the sun the way a sponge did water while Inuyasha swam lazy laps around the pool looking completely at ease. We were behind our house, where we had built a big pool. We just hadn't used it or mentioned it to no one yet. No doubt all of our friends would come every day to just hog the place. Inuyasha and I needed some alone time, didn't we?

"Come join me in the water." Inuyasha said, resting his arms on the lounge.

"Is it cold?"

"Just a little cool. It feels nice though." He said shrugging. I wrinkled my nose at him and he wrinkled his back before we both started to laugh. I motioned for him to move but suddenly I was launched into the water. I was momentarily paralyzed as my body adapted to the feel of the moving water around my body before I propelled myself to the surface. Inuyasha was right; the water was cool and soothing.

"Inuyasha, look what you made me do!" I said, splashing him with water.

Inuyasha laughed. "Me? You're the big klutz here!"

"Oh, you're gonna get it!"

A huge water fight thus began, and ended with me losing badly. After that, we played around for a while, diving, racing and turning flips before I realized my phone was ringing. I hadn't gotten any calls in a while so I was curious to see who it was. By the time I reached my phone it had stopped ringing and I had three voicemails. I was about to check them when the familiar ringtone started up again. I quickly pressed the green button and put the phone up to my ear.

_"Kagome!_" Ayame's voice came strong over the phone. _"Why haven't you called to R.S.V.P for my wedding yet?"_ She nearly yelled. I could almost imagine her red mane of hair flying around her head in an angry cloud.

"I haven't gotten the invitation yet," I said trying to calm her. "I will as soon as I get it."

"_What do you mean? I sent that thing off centuries ago! Damn postal service!"_ She said. She hung up before I could say anything else. All I got was a dial tone.

Well that was weird. Maybe Inuyasha might've gotten it and had forgotten to tell me. No big.

But when I asked Inuyasha if he had caught sight of it, he told me he hadn't. Quickly getting out the pool, I took a quick shower so I could go check the mail while Inuyasha ordered some lunch. I opened the mail box but nothing was there.

How strange.

I bounced slightly on the couch while Inuyasha put a movie into the DVD player. I was waiting for the pizza delivery guy to get here. I had already told Inuyasha that I wanted to get first pick of the pizza. He said I'd have to beat him to the door, which I planned on doing because Inuyasha had a tendency to eat like a half-starved Neanderthal after swimming and I wanted to get a few good slices before he totally demolished it. The movie had just started when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" I said launching myself from the couch, grabbing the money from the coffee table as I went. I could hear Inuyasha laughing behind me as I ran into the other room. I swung open the door and motioned to the delivery guy to wait while I counted out the money. I looked up holding out the money and realized that Ayame was standing in the doorway. "Oh, I. . ."

"He's behind me." Ayame said, jabbing her finger behind her and pushing her way through the door. I gave the money to the scrawny teen and took the pizza to the kitchen where Ayame was leaning against the counters. She didn't look happy.

"They said the invitation should've gone through about a month and a half ago. You don't have it, so where'd it go?"

"I don't know Aya. I swear to you, I would've called as soon as I got it if I had it." I grabbed her hands. Ayame sighed. "We'll be there Ayame, don't worry. Inuyasha and I wouldn't miss it for the world." I said squeezing Ayame's hands. "When's the wedding?"

She gave me a small smile. "Tomorrow; I would've called you sooner but we didn't realize you weren't on the guest list until we went through it again last night." Ayame said in an agitated tone. Yikes, yikes, yikes! Tomorrow? What the hell would I wear now?

"We can do that! No problem!" I said, hoping Ayame wouldn't notice the freaked out expression in my eyes. She gave me a grateful smile and headed towards the door.

"By the way Kagome, have you guys watched the videos Miroku and I left you?"

I turned red instantly."No. We can't find the box and even if we could, no!"

"It was worth a shot." Ayame laughed before closing the door behind her. I shook my head as I put my pizza on a plate; my friends were insane and soon, they were going to drive me up a wall.

"Yash honey, we have a problem."

Inuyasha peeked at the pizza in the box. "Yeah you took all of the good slices and left me with the ones with no meat." He said jokingly.

I sighed. Why must my husband be so silly sometimes?

"No, really; Ayame's wedding is tomorrow afternoon. The post office did something weird and lost our invitation so she just stopped by to give me another one. I don't know what we're going to wear but we need to get them a present and need to do it soon."

"That's bad." Inuyasha said, his gold eyes widening. "Did we already get them something?"

I crossed my arms. "Nope."

Inuyasha shrugged."Oh. Well, we can go tomorrow morning. We'll just have to get up a little early."

"We can't go tomorrow; I have two interviews tomorrow morning." I started pacing, suddenly anxious. How could that invitation have not come? Everything was just too bizarre.

"Well, then let's go." Inuyasha said grabbing a slice of pizza with one hand and my wrist with the other. Out the door we went to trek in the suburban jungle of stores to find something for Ayame and Kouga.

Afterwards, I got into the car and set the bag at my feet. I hadn't found anything to wear, which was okay because I was sure I had something at home that was decent enough to wear. The only thing that bothered me was the fact that all we had found for Kouga and Ayame's wedding gift was a dish set. It was cool, I guess, but I really wanted to give them something with a lot of thought and meaning put into it. But then again we would be able to get them something else later; something really spectacular. I just had to figure out what.

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**The Next Day. . .**

"Inuyasha where's my earrings?"

I had just gotten home from my interviews about twenty minutes ago and was rushing to get dressed. Ayame's wedding started in an hour and we needed to leave ASAP. If only I could find my earrings. I could've sworn I put them on my dresser last night but they were nowhere to be found and Inuyasha said he hadn't saw them when he woke up this morning. I bit the inside of my cheek and turned to look for them in my jewelry box. They weren't in there either. First the invitation and now my earrings. I let out an agitated breath; those had been my favorite earrings.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Inuyasha asked moving away from the closet. He had on a pair of jeans and a Hawaiian shirt. Ayame had told us to wear something bright or beach related. I was wearing a turquoise summer dress that I found in the back of my closet. I figured we should be okay with what we were wearing but Inuyasha wasn't so sure.

"Bring a nicer shirt if you're not comfortable with what we're wearing, but I should tell you Yash, you should know Ayame's not going to want everyone to be all dressed up and uncomfortable." I said, looking into the mirror and putting the finishing touches on my hair. Inuyasha nodded and reluctantly went to get the car keys.

We were breathless when we got to the sight and chose a seat somewhere near the front. The ceremony was being held at a beach that was specifically used for special occasions. The arch around the altar was covered with a trillion different exotic flowers like birds of paradise, Amazon and stargazer lilies and some beautiful pink and purple flower that I couldn't describe. There was a small orchestra on the side playing music while we waited for the service to begin.

Inuyasha laughed and leaned towards me. "I'm glad I didn't change." He whispered when he spotted another person walking past in a Hawaiian shirt. Almost all of the men here were wearing one.

I gave him a knowing smile and mouthed "I told ya so."

The music changed to the bridal march and we turned to see Ayame walking down the aisle of silk that had been laid on the sand. She had her arm linked through her father's. She hadn't wanted any bridesmaids or groomsmen because they felt like it would only cause problems later so other than the flower girl and the ring bearer, Ayame and Kouga were the only ones in the wedding procession. Ayame went to stand across from Kouga. She looked beautiful; her dress was strapless and made of lace that ended in a slight angle a little below her knees. Kouga was wearing a white button up, that he had open over a white wife beater and was wearing khaki pants. They were both smiling so wide and looked so excited and I couldn't help but feel happy for them. We watched the rest of the service go on without incident and at the end when they kissed, we all cheered.

Then, to all of our surprise, they released, not doves, and no not butterflies, but peacocks; two large male peacocks that proudly displayed their beautiful tails as they strutted around the beach.

Leave it to Ayame. She just _had_ to be original. A group of us went to admire them and started to laugh when a little boy went to touch one.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you sweetie." I said trying to warn the little boy but he tried to pluck one of the feathers from the bird and ended up running and screaming at the top of his lungs for someone to stop the bird.

The reception was also held on the beach. The sun had set and our light came from the moon and the strategically placed tiki lanterns. It was still hard to find anybody in the dark, especially since there was so many of us, but I thought I had spotted Kagura on my way to get something to drink. I went off in that direction but I didn't see her so I shrugged and continued on in my pursuit to find something to drink.

Somebody grabbed me by the waist and I turned to see if it was Inuyasha, since he had gotten lost in the crowd sometime earlier and I hadn't seen him since. I just finished talking to Sango so I assumed that it was him, but with the way things were happening, I shouldn't have been surprised to see it _wasn't _him. Damn my rotten luck.

I jumped as I looked into the violet eyes and realized who it was.

"What are you doing here Takeshi?" I pulled away roughly. Just his presence gave me the chills and the urge to run. I stood my ground because I wanted to show that I wasn't going to run away.

"I wanted to see you." He purred, touching my check softly. I slapped his hand away, but he didn't seem fazed. "Remember that invitation you didn't get? Well, I had to take it so I could know when to come. And my, don't you look beautiful." This time, he tried to close the space between us, but I wasn't having it.

"Leave me alone." I muttered angrily, trying to walk away and be done with him.

But of course he didn't let me. This was Takeshi we were talking about.

Instead he grabbed my hand and started to pull me away from the busier part of the party. I tried to pull away, but Takeshi was a heck of a lot stronger than I was. Again, damn my inability to pull away.

"Kagome please, I just want to talk to you for a moment." His voice sounded so soft, so sincere, like a lulling sound, but I knew better. That was just the trick he used to capture his pray and I wasn't stupid enough to fall for it.

"Well, hurry up." I said, a bit fearfully. I really needed to find Inuyasha; I didn't trust this guy at all. Almost without thinking I speed dialed Inuyasha and kept the phone hidden behind my back. Luckily, he hadn't noticed.

"Listen Kagome, I know we got off to a bad start and all but I think we should rethink our relationship. I'm not that bad of a guy once you get to know me." He slowly started to close in on me and I found myself being cornered and I cursed under my breath for not realizing this before.

"Where is all this coming from?" I demanded, angry and scared at the same time. I needed to buy some time for Inuyasha to get here.

"I find myself being very attracted to you Kagome. Surely you know that you are a beautiful woman and you can't blame me for wanting to get to know you a little better." He purred, running a hand through my hair. I shivered from his cold touch, but I seemed to be paralyzed.

"I'm not sure if I want that." I said my breath coming in shallow little breaths. I closed my eyes. Where are you Inuyasha? I had my back pressed against something and Takeshi was pressing himself into me and I didn't like the way this was going. Not one bit.

He leaned in too much for anyone but Inuyasha to lean in. "You're just a little confused. You think you love Inuyasha, but I can show you that he's really just a distraction. He can't give you what you need, but I can, kitten. I can do that and so much more. You just need to know what you're missing."

Before I could cry out, he had pressed his lips against mine. His lips were hard and too warm against mine and I didn't like the way that he kept trying to force his tongue into my mouth. I tried pushing away but he pressed even harder against me. I wanted to scream but he was preventing that too. I started to panic.

Oh god, I was going to be taken advantage of and there was nothing that I could do to stop it! I was going to get freakin raped by a man that… Agh! I couldn't even think of words bad enough to describe him. I didn't respond to what he was doing, though he tried hard to get me too. It was all just too disgusting though.

Since he had my hands pushed uselessly behind my back, I was defenseless; I had already dropped my phone and had no chance of trying to call for help. Takeshi began to run his hands up and down my body and I struggled to get free.

_Please somebody_ _help me!_  
I closed my eyes trying to block all it out but then Takeshi started to reach under my dress. I couldn't take this and I wasn't going down without a damn fight. I was Kagome Takahashi for Pete's sake! With my new found courage, I kicked him hard enough to break away from his assault on my lips and let out a blood curdling scream before he slapped a hand over my face and banged my head against whatever it was behind me.

"Shh. We don't want anyone disrupting us." He said too gently, too calmly. He knew no one was coming. Hell, I knew no one was coming. Tears started to stream down my face. Takeshi had begun to kiss me again when suddenly he pulled away from my body. I crumpled to the sand below and looked up to see Inuyasha holding Takeshi by the back of his shirt.

"Nobody touches my wife like that, nobody, you sick bastard!" Inuyasha yelled punching Takeshi in the face hard enough to knock him on his butt. Inuyasha went at him again and had hit him a few more times when Sango, Miroku and a few guys ran over. Sango helped me off of the ground and took me a few feet away while Miroku pulled Inuyasha off of Takeshi and the other guys detained Takeshi. Inuyasha was still trying to get to Takeshi when Miroku whispered something to Inuyasha that made him stop. Miroku went to the guys who held Takeshi and they left the scene quickly. Inuyasha came over to me and grabbed me from Sango, who had tried to calm me down.

"You're okay baby, you're okay." He murmured holding me against his chest. He kissed my hair but I couldn't answer him at the moment. I couldn't find my voice. I just held on to him tightly and hid my face in his shirt so no one would catch sight of the tears that were streaming down my face.

Inuyasha picked me up gently and carried me over to the car. He didn't say anything the whole ride home but I could feel him fuming beside me. I would be just as mad as him if I didn't feel so violated and so vulnerable.

When we got home I headed straight for the shower. I felt gross and needed to scrub the scent of Takeshi from my body. I was so freaked out by the whole ordeal that I obsessively began to scrub at my skin, making it red and raw. I forced myself to stop and got out of the shower. I put on my bathrobe and went to our room to find Inuyasha sitting on the bed, already dressed in his usual muscle shirt and boxers.

"Are you okay?" He asked, pulling me gently into his lap. I nodded and curled up like a child against him. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around me, making me feel safe and warm. "Let's get you ready for bed." He helped me into my gown and tucked me in, tucking the covers tight around me before he leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Night Kagome."

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**A/N: Damn. ****It was that good.**

**Well, I have to say, this was very, very suspenseful. I really thought Kagome wasn't going to be saved, but Inuyasha came! But wasn't this still a good chapter? (Apart from the Takeshi weirdness? I freaking got the chills reading it.) I loved it a lot so review for Bella ok, you guys? She'd love it, you know. **

** One more thing. No one has voted for this story on my poll as of yet. You guys really, really need to do that, ok? You want to get frequent updates? Go vote please! I love writing this, and I'm sure Bella does too, but I will go by reader demand. Make this first place and vote! (The poll in on my profile and there a few details there.)**

**~Daichi**


	7. Unexpected Visitors

**A/N: Hey you guys! I'm back! I know it was a while since the last update, but school has had me in a choke-hold the past few weeks. I barely get any time to write anymore, but I still try to do my best! I finish my projects more quickly and I do well in my classes so that I don't have to worry about my grades so I can focus on writing. Plus, I'm writing my own book and that need some of my time too, don't you think? I also want to thank the people that went to go vote for this story. Currently, it's in the lead, but come on you guys! My story "Death Angels" is gaining for first place, so hurry and vote! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.**

**Chapter 7: Unexpected visitors**

I woke up the next morning when I felt the bed move. I opened my eyes to see Inuyasha frozen in place. For a moment, I was confused. I propped myself on my elbow and tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

Inuyasha didn't make a move to touch me. Instead, he sat there and whispered softly, "Are you okay, love?"

I stared at him blankly, but then everything from last night came streaming into my consciousness when I was finally fully awake. Talk about reeling memories. I shook the disturbing images from my mind and laid down again, closing my eyes, but no matter what I did, they wouldn't go away.

"Inuyasha. . ." I whispered, trying to distract myself. "Are you going to school today?"

Inuyasha nodded, but then added, "If you want, I can stay with you. Anything to make you feel better." He tentatively outstretched his hand to touch my face, but I flinched slightly, causing him to pull his hand back.

As I sat up, I cast my eyes to the sheets that I was twisting in my hands. "I'm . . . I'm sorry, Inuyasha."

He just shook his head. "It's alright, Kagome. I understand." He stood up, smiling at me and striding to the bathroom. I laid back down and bundled up in the sheets. I didn't want to go to school. _He'd _be there and the last person I wanted to see was Takeshi. I still shivered just thinking about him.

Inuyasha emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later and quickly dressed. Since today he was going to some mock-business meeting, he put on the dress shirt that I liked to dress him in. He gave me a wink as he adjusted the collar.

I smiled. "Is the shirt a tribute to me?"

Inuyasha laughed and grabbed his laptop, case and a few papers. He would be leaving his bulky backpack to look more professional. "Everything I do is a tribute to you, Kagome, the world's most wonderful wife."

I smiled wide as he grinned cockily and left, shutting the door. When I heard his car leave, the smile faded instantly. I was alone now, with no way of making the horrible images in my mind to go away. That, and the fear that he might still be stalking me, made me get up and covered up all the windows, lock them and lock all the doors, just to be safe. I wasn't going to take any chances where it concerned my life.

As I sat down on the couch in my living room, I curled up into a ball to think. What Takeshi . . . did to me last night was sudden and thoroughly unexpected. For one, I thought he hated me to his very core. I never knew that he had _those _kinds of feelings for me. I shivered at the thought. It didn't make any sense to me at all. He was all for killing me in high school, but now he wanted to . . . yeah.

I wondered where they took him after they found me last night. Miroku had whispered something to Inuyasha that made him stop punching Takeshi (I, for one, would have loved for him to keep going.) Suddenly, the phone rang.

I jumped at first, but then I hesitantly picked it up. "Hello?" I whispered.

_"Kagome?"_

I sighed in relief as I realized that it was only Sango. "Hi, Sango."

_"Hey Kagome. Are you okay?"_ She asked.

I tried to make my voice sound convincing. "Y-yeah, sure I am."

_"Kagome, don't play me, please. I really do need to know how you are. "_

I sighed, pressing the phone a little harder into my ear. "Fine, I'm not okay. I'm still freaked out and I don't want to be alone, but Inuyasha can't stay from school either and then I have—l"

_"Kagome!"_ Sango interrupted. _"Calm down. Breathe for me, please."_

"But Sango—"

_"But nothing! Do it."_

Just to humor her, I breathed in and out just like she told me too. After a minute, I stopped. "Better?" I asked, murmuring into the receiver.

I could almost hear Sango smile. _"Yes."_

"So, what's up?" I asked. Sango never called without a reason.

Sango sighed again. _"I was calling you to see if you would like me and Ayame to come over today. I'm pretty sure you don't want to be alone."_

I shook my head, even thought I knew Sango couldn't see me. "Oh, Sango, you don't have to. And neither does Ayame. She should be having fun on her honey-moon not worrying over a freaked out girl like me."

_"Kagome, you—"_

Sango was interrupted by someone grabbing the receiver.

"_Kagome, how can ever think that I wouldn't want to worry about you?"_

I blinked. "Ayame? Is that you?" I exclaimed, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Aren't you supposed to be in Cancun right now?"

She grunted. _"That doesn't matter! Besides, Kouga didn't want to spend so much on the honey-moon. He had to pay for the whole wedding, since my dad has this weird tradition about the groom paying for everything and not the bride's father, but that's all irrelevant. What I want to tell you is that I will always be there for you, Kagome."_

I smiled, my previous feelings of displeasure gone. "That means a lot to me."

_"Great!"_ She shouted, a little too loud. _"Then we'll see you in ten minutes!"_

"Wait, Ayame—"

But it was already too late to say anything because she quickly hung up. I sighed as I put the phone down. She always hung up when I was in mid-sentence so that I wouldn't refuse what she asked for. It worked every time.

But I guess it wouldn't be bad. Being alone with my own thoughts was taking me in a downward spiral towards depression, and goodness knows, we didn't need that. Having Sango and Ayame over would relieve some of the tension I felt in this house.

Soon, I heard a car park in front of the cottage. I walked to the door and opened it.

Sango waved from the car, just as she was coming out. "Hey, Kagome!"

I waved back and beckoned for the both of them to come in quickly. I didn't want to be outside for too long. Ayame flashed me a smile as she came inside. I closed the door and latched all the bolts. Sango and Ayame glanced at me peculiarly and I shrugged.

"Better safe than sorry, right?"

Sango glanced at Ayame with a worried expression. They sat down on the couch and I sat down in the armchair across it. Ayame was the first to speak.

"Kagome, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I mean, if I hadn't been so insistent on you coming, maybe—"

I stopped her before she could continue. "Ayame, don't start blaming yourself for what happened. If anything, we should be planning Takeshi's death right now. I wouldn't love anything better."

Sango chuckled softly. "Goodness gracious, Kagome. Have you crossed over to the dark side?"

I stuck my tongue at her and we all laughed at my childish behavior. I offered them tea and they gladly accepted. Sango stood up to walk around the house a bit (probably to check if there was anything out of place) and Ayame began helping me prepare the tea.

All of a sudden, Sango came into the hallway, holding something in her hand. My eyes bulged when I realized what they were.

The letter and pictures.

Sango must have taken my horrified expression as some kind of answer. "Kagome," she asked, very serious. "What the hell has Takeshi been doing to you?"

I put down the mug that was filled with tea down, in fear that I would drop it in my shock. I didn't answer Sango and instead moved toward her to grab the photos. My hands shook as I took them.

"I-I had these locked in my drawer. How could they…?" I trailed off. I dashed off to the bathroom to check if my key was still hanging from the little tack I had put it on from when I took my shower.

It was nowhere to be seen.

By now, Sango and Ayame had followed after me. They figured something was bad, but they couldn't figure out what.

"Kagome, you're scaring me!" Sango grabbed me, just as I began to freak out. "Tell me why there's a letter from Takeshi and photos of you!"

I shook my head and Ayame laid a hand on Sango's shoulder. "Sango, calm down. Obviously, Kagome needs to let some of her feelings out." She gently grabbed me and pulled me into a hug.

And so I cried. Like a big, huge baby, just like last night, only now it was because _he_ had been in here again. Ayame held me and rocked me back and forth. From what I could see from my hazy vision and from what I could hear, Sango was speaking to Miroku and she didn't sound the least bit happy. After a while, I stopped crying and Ayame pulled back a little.

"Better?" She asked, eyes wide with concern.

I nodded. Ayame could be the best and most serious friend sometimes.

Sango came into my room, snapping her phone shut. "Ayame, something happened."

Ayame glanced at her, her green eyes flashing. "What?"

Sango sighed, cracking her fists. She only ever did that when she was _really_ angry. "Miroku told me that he and the guys who had grabbed Takeshi had taken him to the police station, but because Kagome wasn't with them to testify against him, they couldn't put him behind bars. Plus, since Kagome showered, there're no traces of his DNA on her body." She hit the wall of a sudden, making me and Ayame jump. "And they freaking let him walk away!"

I closed my eyes. Why, why, why did this have to happen to me? Why me and why now? All I wanted was to live a normal married life with the man that I loved and cherished and who loved me just as much. Was that too much to ask of life? Am I doomed to walk a path full of hurt and pain forever?

Ayame cursed to herself. "Sango, I think we should stay here until Inuyasha comes back. She's not safe by herself."

Sango nodded, frowning. "You're right." Then she added, "Inuyasha's going to be pissed as hell when he finds out."

Ayame nodded. " I know. He hates it when things happen to Kagome and he can't do anything. If Miroku hadn't stopped him last night, I hate to think what Inuyasha might have done to Takeshi. He'd be the one in jail right now."

I sniffled and let go of Ayame. My friends tensed for a second as they realized I was going to say something.

"H-he was here a-again." I stuttered, hiccupping slightly.

Ayame stared at me incredulously. "What?"

I gazed at the both of them. "My k-key was here last night and now it's gone. I-I'm sure Takeshi took it." I sniffled again.

Sango was quite for a second, but then she quickly moved towards me. "Kagome, I want you to look around and see if there's anything else missing, anything at all. Can you do that for me?"

I nodded and I walked around my house and in the closets. I wasn't sure if anything else was missing, and I didn't see anything out of place. I came back to my room and shook my head at Sango.

She nodded. "Alright, then." She quickly paced out of the room and Ayame and I followed after her. She grabbed her keys and turned to Ayame. "Take care of Kagome. I'll be right back."

I ran after her. "Where are you going?"

She turned to me as she opened the door. "I'm going to go get Miroku. Then, I'm going to try and see if I can knock some sense into the sheriff that let Takeshi off."

I opened my mouth to tell her not to, but she was gone in a flash. I turned around to see Ayame chuckling to herself. "That Sango will never change."

I crossed my arms. "Ayame, why does this keep happening?"

Her green eyes shone with sadness. "I don't know Kagome, I don't know."

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I had been sitting in the living room when I heard the door open. I jumped up thinking it might be Takeshi again, but it was only Inuyasha. I couldn't help myself and I ran to him, encircling him with my arms.

He returned the gesture and stroked my hair lovingly, crushing me to him. "Kagome, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left at all." He buried his face in my hair and gave me a light kiss. "I'm so sorry, Kagome."

I shook my head. "Inuyasha, you don't have to apologize for anything. It wasn't your fault."

He sighed and pulled away to face me better. "But I should be able to protect you and it bothers me that I can't. I should stay home."

"Inuyasha, you can't always be everywhere I go. Besides," I added, "I have to go to school tomorrow."

Inuyasha sighed angrily. "I know, but I don't even want to expose you there."

I arched an eyebrow. "Is—is he still there?"

His silver hair gleamed as the rays of sun hit it when he shook his head. "No, I didn't see him. And a good thing too, because he still owes me from last night."

I suddenly remembered the comment Ayame had made before. I wonder what Inuyasha really would have done. I decided not to ask.

There was a knock on the door and Inuyasha and I broke apart at the sound of it. It could be Sango, since she still hadn't come back yet.

Ayame appeared from the kitchen, a pan in her hand and glanced at me. "Is there someone at the door?"

I laughed as she held the pan tightly in her grip. "I don't think anyone who would try to hurt us would knock on the door, Ayame."

"Oh." She lowered the pan and shrugged non-chalantly. "I knew that."

Inuyasha shook his head, chuckling slightly and made his way to the door. He opened it with ease.

"Inuyasha, son," came a familiar voice. "It's nice to see you again."

Inutaisho strode in wearing his cream-white suit, smiling at Inuyasha's perplexed look and my surprised one. "It seems you're surprised to see me."

Inuyasha sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I think we would, dad. It's not every day that a mobster boss comes around."

Inutaisho ignored his comment and glanced at me. "Kagome, how are you? I haven't seen you since the wedding."

I smiled warmly at him, crossing my arms. "It's nice to see you too, Mr. Takahashi."

"Oh, please, call me dad!"

I blinked in surprise. "Um, ok. . . dad?" I said, awkwardly.

He glanced around the house, examining it carefully. "Well, I sure do like what you've done to the place. I haven't been here since Izayoi—I mean, since Inuyasha was a kid!" He tried to laugh off his mistake. "Yeah, that's it!"

Inuyasha sighed. "Dad, it's okay. It doesn't bother me as much anymore."

Inutaisho seemed surprised at Inuyasha's words and he smiled at me. "And that's because of your doing, isn't it?"

I blushed for a second before Inuyasha came and put an arm around my shoulder. "I owe a lot of who I am to two very special people. One is them is my mother and the other," he grinned crookedly at me, "is my wife."

He kissed my forehead, but I was a bit embarrassed that he had said that in front of his Dad. Inutaisho laughed at my expression.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It was the same way with my wife." He sighed, smiling at memories I didn't know about. "Those were good times."

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed in the room. Inuyasha stared at his father steadily and with a firm voice asked, "What's the reason for the visit, Dad?"

"I see that nothing passes you, does it, Inuyasha?" Inutaisho smiled slightly, "I am here because one of Kagome's friends found me."

Kagome arched an eyebrow. "Who?"

Inutaisho seemed to have trouble remembering the name. "She was a short girl, about your height, long hair in a ponytail, wore a lot of pink, oh and," He paused, chuckling slightly, "She has a mean right hook."

I groaned, knowing who it was in an instant. "Did Sango hit you?"

Inutaisho laughed. "Oh, she didn't hit me. Her boyfriend was being a little too . . . friendly and she got tired of it. Just hit him without even a warning. Poor boy, sent him flying"

I giggled, the first time in a while. "That's Sango alright."

Inuyasha looked puzzled. "Wait a minute. How did she find you? I thought your location was top-secret and crap."

Inutaisho shrugged. "I don't even know how she bypassed the system. All I know is that she came into my office, demanding information on a man that used to work for Naraku."

My eyes bulged. "She asked about Takeshi?"

He nodded grimly. "The very same. Seems like she's on quest to find him and put him down, if you know what I mean." He ran a finger across his neck.

Inuyasha tensed, walking towards his father. "_Did_ you have any information to give her?"

He shook his head. "That man hasn't been seen underground for months now. He's evading even his old comrades. Listen," he added, glancing at me, "I'm here because your friend explained what's been happening to you because of this man, and I feel that it's my obligations as your father-in-law to set up some type of security when Inuyasha's not with you."

Ayame suddenly appeared, having reemerged from her kitchen-cave, civilized once more. "Sango and I were going to alternate days of watching her so that's part covered.

"But what about when she's in school?" Inuyasha asked, "I'm on the other side of campus all day."

Inutaisho smiled. "Don't worry, Inuyasha, I know many professors at that college who wouldn't hesitate to watch over her. Hmm," he thought out loud, "I probably will need to call in some favors for this." He grabbed his cell phone from his pocket, but before he dialed any number, he added, "And just to make sure, I'll put people around the perimeter. It's high time my men do something worth-while."

He turned away as he began to call and I turned to Inuyasha. "Are you going to accept the offer?"

He shrugged. "Even if I didn't, it would be too late. He's already on the phone with half the world." He chuckled, grabbing my hand. "Besides, I think it would help ease my mind."

He then glanced at Ayame, who was busy braiding her hair. "Ayame, would you mind taking care of Kagome when I can't be here and she is?"

Ayame glanced up and nodded. "Of course. She's my best friend." She smiled warmly at me. "And by the sound of it, Sango wouldn't mind either."

Inuyasha nodded. "Thanks."

Ayame crossed her arms. "It's nothing."

Inutaisho suddenly snapped his phone shut and turned to us. Pocketing the phone, he said, "Everything's in order, Kagome. You'll be safe at the campus, though I doubt he'll be there. I just talked to the dean of admissions and they couldn't find his file. But," He added, glancing at me and Inuyasha. "Don't be lulled into a false sense of security. Someone _might_ just be working for him, so be careful who you trust."

I nodded vigorously. I would not let my guard down for anything. I already did that too many times, and look at where I am? I mentally shook my head at myself. "Thanks for all the help, um. . ."

"Dad," Inutaisho finished for me. It was a little awkward to say it so I just nodded. He waved goodbye and was out the door. His shiny black car gleamed in the setting sun. I checked my watch.

"Oh, look at the time. It's dinner and I haven't prepared a thing to eat for you, Inuyasha." I glanced worriedly at Inuyasha, silently conveying that I was sorry, but he shook his head.

"It's okay, Kagome. I can fix something for the both of us."

As in on cue, Ayame called from the kitchen. "No one worry about the food! I'm treating you guys to some of my favorite dishes."

Inuyasha and I glanced at each other. He grinned. "Do you think she's a good cook?"

I shrugged. "We'd have to ask Kouga."

Abruptly, my cell phone rang. I dug in my pockets for it but I realized I had left it in my room. I ran quickly to grab it.

"Hello?"

"Kagome? It's Sango. I was just calling to tell you that I'll be there tomorrow morning to pick you up for school." She sighed. "You're definitely not going anywhere by yourself."

I laughed. "This sort of reminds me of high school, you know."

Sango moaned. "A little too _much_ of high school, if you know what I mean."

"Well, then I'll see you tomorrow." I bid her farewell and hung up.

It seemed like I would never get the peace I wanted. Even if with this extra security, I still had my doubts. I mean, we're talking bout the man who's evaded the police since he could practically crawl. Everything has gone from _bad _to _super bad_ to _oh-my-gosh bad._ It's created a kind of domino effect on my life.

I just wonder what part of it is next to fall.

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A/N: So this is REALLY late and I know. If I could, I would bow to each of you in apologies right now, so when you read, just think of a person bowing and groveling for your forgiveness. I hope you guys still liked the chapter.

I haven't gone to check the poll yet, but I will right after I upload this. Hopefully, this story is in the lead!

REVIEW and VOTE!

~Daichi


	8. Friction

**A/N: Well, hello everyone! I am here with Bella's chapter! She really out did herself in this! Please take the time to write a review and tell her how awesome she is. **** Also, let's have Japan in our prayers and thoughts after the horrible tragedy. Does anyone else feel like their heart has been ripped out? (me!)**

**Well, please enjoy the chapter!**

**Chapter 8: And the friction sets in . . .**

After only a few days, I had fallen into a new schedule. Either Sango or Ayame would drive me to school, I would have lunch with Inuyasha, have people escort me to my classes, and then Ayame would drive me home and stay until dinner, which was when Inuyasha came home and I would have to shove a bowl of food filled Tupperware into her hands because she didn't want to take the food and I didn't feel right if she didn't. Today was no exception. Ayame was supposed to be helping me choose something to sculpt for art, but she was too busy pouring over her sketches for new clothing to be of any real help.

"Maybe an animal," she said absentmindedly, erasing something really hard.

"No, too many people will be trying to do that." I mused. "I need something original something like . . . like . . ." I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"A rainbow?" Ayame finished for me.

"What?" I gaped. The Ayame I knew would never say such a preppy little thing. She really was going crazy because of her work. "Who are you, and what have you done with Ayame?" I joked, feigning horror.

"Sorry Gome, I'm just too tired to think right now." Ayame had gone from being slouched in a chair to resting with her arms and head on the table. The poor thing looked so tired and I realized that she should've left for home forty-five minutes ago. I texted Inuyasha to see where he was, but he didn't answer after fifteen minutes so I called him.

"Hey Kagome, what did you need?" His voice was light, so I took it that he was having fun. If he was, he was going to get hell back at home.

"Where are you Yasha?" I whined, using the little pet name I had given him. This trick always worked on him. "You should've been home an hour ago. Ayame's still waiting for you to get here so she can leave."

"Is it that late already? I started talking to a classmate and lost track of time." He sounded repentant, so I considered making him not suffer tonight. "Is it alright if I bring them to the house?"

I shrugged. What did I care that he would bring some guy to come and talk with him? I mean, Miroku just wasn't good company sometimes."Yeah, sure, just hurry because I think Ayame needs to start working on her prototypes tonight."

I walked back to the kitchen to find poor Ayame passed out on the table. I woke her up and she hugged me before going out of the door, bowl of dinner taken without complaints for once.

"Ayame," I called, just as she was leaving. "Don't forget to sleep! I feel so bad that you had to wait this long."

Ayame waved her hand to dismiss my feelings. "Don't," She yawned. "Worry about it." With that, she got in her car and drove away.

Feeling a little less protected I started cleaning up the house a little bit and working on my journalism homework, just to have something to do. If I didn't, scary things would start being made in my head and I didn't want to be rocking in a corner when Inuyasha and his friend came home. I mean, I was strong and I could be alone for a little bit.

I was trying to wait for Inuyasha and his friend to come home so I could eat dinner but they were taking an awfully long time. Inuyasha and I made it a point to eat all of our meals together because our schedules were so busy and that was a little bit of time that we would be able to spend together. Unfortunately, he was still nowhere in sight and I was starving and was out of homework so I resigned to eating dinner alone. He was definitely getting some hell when he got back home.

I washed the rest of the dishes and put dinner in the fridge so he could eat when he got there. The house phone rang and I jumped when I heard it. The only person that called on the house phone was my mom and I had just talked to her not too long ago. I went to answer it anyway; maybe she had some news or something.

"Is this Kagome Takahashi?" The stoic voice on the other line asked.

"Yes, this is she." I answered, wondering who would be calling me.

"Well, this call is to inform you that you have been selected for the receptionist job here at the Fumaka Company. Your hours will be from five in the afternoon until eight-thirty on weekdays and ten to five at the end of the week and weekends. Your request to not work on Sunday was approved. Thank you."

The phone hung up and I screamed, but not for the reason you're thinking.

I had gotten the job as a part-time receptionist at a company not too far from here! I got the job! I was about to do my happy dance when Inuyasha came into the kitchen, his classmate following behind.

Oh. _Hell._ No.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I had expected his classmate to be a guy, you know, someone who Inuyasha could bump chests with or something 'manly' like that. She wasn't, and I would totally have been okay with it had it not been that it was that _skanky_ waitress from the restaurant that Inuyasha and I had our date in. Was he blind or just a huge idiot?

First of all, she was standing way to close to _my man_ and was wearing a _way_ too skimpy dress that showed _too_ much cleavage. What the heck was he doing hanging out with her? All of the joy that I felt from the phone call evaporated like a puddle in the sun. I could not, _would_ not have this woman in my house. Period. End of story. I gave Inuyasha a look but he either missed or ignored it.

"Hey Kaggers." He put his bag down and gave me a kiss that I'm not even sure I even returned because I was too busy glaring at that skanky little waitress chick. Inuyasha glanced at the clean kitchen and cocked his head to the side.

"You ate without me?"

Did he still have the nerve to ask me that? "Well you _are_ home almost an hour and a half late." I tried to say lightly, but of course, didn't. I glanced toward the skank again. Something about this girl rubbed me the wrong way and was making it hard to be nice, even to my own husband.

"I know, sorry about that." He waved it off as if it wasn't important. "I'll just eat later." As if he had suddenly realized that he had brought a girl home, he introduced her. "Oh and Kagome, this is Leila. Leila, this is Kagome, my wife." Leila sneered at me and said,

"So are we going to get to work?"

Did she just blow me off? She totally just blew me off! Inuyasha nodded and took some sodas from the fridge. I was about ready to sink my claws into that witch.

"Leila's going to open a restaurant and asked for some help with some details."

"Mm hmm." I replied, skeptical of that proposition. More like she wanted to get in his pants, but that would have to wait until I was dead and six feet under. The more I looked at Leila, the more familiar she looked until, bam! It hit me like a train.

"Why don't you head on into the living room?" I said looking a Leila, my anger rising even more now that I knew who she was. I glanced back at Inuyasha. "I need to speak with you really fast Inuyasha."

I waited until Leila was seated on the couch before hissing to Inuyasha, "Do you realize who you've brought to our house?" Inuyasha looked at me blankly and shrugged. I sighed. There was no way he could be that freaking clueless. "That's the waitress that kept flirting with you. She dropped boiling soup in my lap. Remember?" I tapped my foot and crossed my arms so that he could see that I wasn't in the mood to negotiate.

"Kagome that doesn't mean anything; we already established that it was an accident." Inuyasha sounded exasperated, the same way I felt, but for a totally different reason.

"Yeah, well I'd be able to think that if I hadn't seen her with Takeshi not too long after that." Sucking face with Takeshi to be exact, but he didn't need to know the gory details.

"Kagome, I understand that you don't necessarily like Leila, but that doesn't mean you have to peg her to Takeshi." He rolled his eyes at me. ME! His freaking wife! "So she spilled some soup on you, no big deal; time to move on. But don't lie to me saying she was with Takeshi to make her seem like an enemy."

I stared openmouthed at Inuyasha as he walked away. After all of this, he didn't even believe me when it came to things about Takeshi. I just couldn't believe it. Did he forget what happened to me at Ayame's wedding? Was he just begging for a replay?

I didn't need to hang around to know that Leila was flirting with Inuyasha again. I went to bed, making sure to throw his pillow and a blanket on the floor, where he belonged right now.

And I didn't even get to tell him that I start work next Friday.

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"I'm going out."

I muttered this angrily in Inuyasha's direction before letting the door slam shut behind me. Leila's laugh echoed in my mind. I got into my car and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get the image of Leila touching Inuyasha's chest out of my mind before I could go back inside and strangle her, because if I did, she would end up in the morgue.

Leila made a habit of coming by everyday to ask Inuyasha for "help" but she spent most of her time giggling and making jokes with nasty innuendos. She also made it a point to _touch_ Inuyasha . . . _constantly_. And to top it all off he never said anything! What the hell was I? Chopped liver?

"Stupid ho bag." I muttered darkly turning on the car and driving away from the house and trying to stop the murderous thoughts that were playing in my head. I went to a store or two to find a few new shirts for work, since I didn't have anything professional in my closet. Of course, Inuyasha was supposed to be here, but that skank had made sure that she occupied all of Inuyasha's time. It was like I didn't exist anymore.

I stopped by a coffee shop and picked up a large French vanilla latte when my cell chimed. I found a message from Inuyasha asking me to come home because he wanted to talk. I was going to ignore the message and go see a movie, but I thought better of it and went home. Maybe he wanted me to cook dinner for him and his little 'friend'.

Inuyasha was waiting for me in the living room when I got home. He had his head in his hands and I sat down and sipped my latte, waiting for him to say something. He looked up and I was surprised to see nothing but pure worry and fear in his golden eyes.

A bad feeling took hold of me; Inuyasha never showed fear quite this clearly. Hell, he never showed it! It was always disguised by something else, but not today.

"What's wrong?"I asked immediately, the fear in my voice was about as clear as the fear in his eyes.

"Everything." He shook his head and grabbed my hand. "Kagome, I really want to apologize for everything. I fell like maybe I haven't been doing all that I should be." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "I mean, well. . ." Inuyasha scratched his head and made a face. "Everything that's been going on with Takeshi is very, very serious. I know how threatened you've felt by him and now that I think back on it, there were way more precautions that I should've been taking with you to make sure that you were protected. I know that it seems like I've been blowing you off lately when you say things and I just walk away, but honestly, I don't know what to do about Takeshi, and that scares the hell out of me." He gulped. "It scares me way more than you know because I don't know how to protect you." His eyes were soft as he looked at me. "But I swear to you now Kagome, I'm going to be here for you more, okay?"

I just kind of stared at Inuyasha not knowing what to say or do. Finally, I just nodded. That talk had come as a big shock, and that wasn't what I was expecting at all. But then again, this was Inuyasha. He motioned for me to come to him and when I did he pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around me. "I'm sorry." He said, softly kissing the top of my head.

"I forgive you." I said and snaked my arms around his waist. I wanted to ask what brought this on, but then I really didn't so I didn't bring it up, and neither did he. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt like everything was normal. There were no bills, no drama, no Takeshi or Leila; there was just Inuyasha and I.

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A/N: Oh yeah! Give it up for Bella you guys! I liked this chapter and I hope Bella can keep writing kick-ass chapters like this. Thanks to all of you guys who have voted, because this story is currently in the lead! Thanks a million for making this story matter.

~Daichi


	9. A bundle of joy

**A/N: I am so sorry to be late with this chapter! I'm never usually so late for an update on this story, so please forgive me. *bows* I hope you do like the chapter though.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, my last name would be Takahashi and my first, Rumiko.**

**Chapter 9: A bundle of joy**

"Really? It was over like that?" Sango asked, sipping a milkshake at the local coffee shop with me. I had recounted the events of the week to Sango, since I hadn't spoken of it at all to anyone. I also told her what had happened the week before

"Yeah, it was kind of surreal." I sipped at my own chocolate milkshake. "I wasn't expecting him to apologize. He's kept true to his promise for the past week too. It's been really nice." I smiled.

"At least you let him." She snorted. "If Miroku had been ignoring me because of any other girl, there would be no mercy."

I chuckled. "Only you, Sango."

"You know it."

I stood up and grabbed my bag. "I think it's time I should go. Inuyasha will be waiting for me at home. Since it's Saturday, he suggested we go on a picnic."

Sango's wiggled her eyebrows. "Making any babies soon?"

"Sango!" I blushed. "I'd expect that from Ayame or Miroku, but not you. And for the record, we're both too busy to have babies yet."

"I was just saying." Sango shrugged, standing up. "I'll follow you in my car, ok?"

I sighed, but nodded my agreement. It had been a while since what happened the last time with Takeshi, but nothing had changed. I felt cornered and helpless, fearing that at any time, Takeshi might show up and ruin my life again. But I guess my life was already partly ruined.

As we walked out, I quickly walked to my car and got in, Sango trailing behind me. The path to my little cottage came up quickly and I couldn't wait to finally be at home. I smiled as I thought of the fun Inuyasha and I would have. Maybe we could even picnic by the river.

To my surprise, there was another car in my driveway, a car that I didn't recognize. I stopped and as Sango watched, walked up to my house door. I unlocked it, hoping to have my anxiety calmed, and walked in.

And could you guess who was sitting on _my _couch, eating _my _food, and _flirting_ with _my_ husband yet _again_?

Leila was going to die _now_.

Inuyasha glanced up, somehow not noting my deadly glare and my tensed body. He was all smiles. "Hey, Kagome! Leila just came by to tell me how her restaurant was going." He got up and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "She asked me if I could help her with some of the legal stuff in it, and . . ."

"We're not going to do the picnic, are we?"

"I know, and I also know that I made a promise with you yesterday so we'll do something tonight, just the both of us. Ok?"

My heart was shattering yet again. He had apologized to me about not being there for me, but he hadn't said that he believed what I had told him about Leila. I should have known. For a second, I didn't know what to say. Then the anger just built up and I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Fine!" I yelled, pushing him away. "Go! I don't want you here anyway!"

Inuyasha looked at me, confused. "Kagome, calm down. What's wrong?"

I laughed bitterly. "What's wrong? She's what's wrong!" I pointed to Leila, who glared at me.

"Who are you talking about, Kagome? I haven't done a thing to you! I even apologized!" She yelled, getting up and walking toward Inuyasha's side. She held onto his arm just slightly, but she sent me a look of triumph. I wanted to wipe that smirk off her face.

Inuyasha spoke again. "Kagome . . . we talked about this."

"Talked? No, Inuyasha, we didn't. You never listen to me when I tell you what things really are. Why the hell would I lie to you?"

"Kagome, it seems you still hate me." Leila sniffed, obviously faking it for Inuyasha's sake. "I'm just trying to be a good friend and that's what Inuyasha is doing for me."

I couldn't take anymore of her stupid lies, her fake kindness and I lunged at her. We fell on the floor, with me hitting her in the face. True to the coward/skank she is, she immediately grabbed my hair and pulled. The force of it pulled me back, which made my grip loosen on her. I was about to kick her, but I felt arms pull me back.

It was Sango. "Kagome, calm down!" She yelled, but I still struggled. Pulling me back even more, she whispered in my ear, "Don't let her have the satisfaction."

I wanted to calm down, to show that I was the better person but I didn't want to be at that moment.

Inuyasha pulled Leila up, apologizing for my behavior. Sango held me back and glared at Leila as Inuyasha spoke to her. She grabbed her things, sent a glare my way and walked out my house. Inuyasha turned to me, disappointment in his eyes.

"Kagome," he said. "I expected better from you."

My soul was crushed by the way he looked at me. It's the same kind of feeling that comes when you lose something that you worked so hard for. Even though I was hurting, my anger and my pride didn't let me show it. Sango let me go and I turned away and walked into my room without responding to Inuyasha's comment.

"Kagome," Sango said, closing the door. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, trying to make my tears disappear but they fell down anyway. "No, I'm not okay, Sango. There's a murderer after me, my husband hates me and my life is in ruins!" I yelled, the anger mixed with the bitterness I felt.

"I believe you Kagome." Sango said, walking to me and hugging me. "I could tell that Leila girl was just faking it. I'm sorry."

I hugged her back, happy to have someone believe me. But I wanted Inuyasha to believe me and he didn't. He had even blown our date off again, just so he could 'help' that murder loving, husband-stealing slut. What was the point of his apologizing last week?

"Sango, can I stay over your house tonight?"

She pulled back and laughed. "Of course! We can have a triple sleepover if Ayame agrees."

I nodded. A sleepover was something that I needed. "I desperately need some girl time. I need to get away from my crazy life a little." Also, I didn't want to sleep next to Inuyasha tonight, not now and not for a while. I felt betrayed, which was why I wanted to leave, maybe even make the trip longer.

I walked over to my dresser and began to pull the necessary things for a sleepover, grabbing some of my work clothes too, since I started work tomorrow. I went into my bathroom and grabbed my shampoo, my toothbrush and my hair brush. I was ready to go in ten minutes.

When we walked out the room and into the hallway, I was intensely aware that there was no sound at all. Not even the radio, since Inuyasha listened to sports around this time. The living room was empty when we got there, and a little bit of me died when I realized Inuyasha had still left.

My grip on my bag tightened, fueled with the anger, sadness and bitterness. Fine. If Inuyasha was still hell-bent on helping Leila, then he would have to prepare himself because I wasn't going to take it. If he insisted, he just say goodbye because I wasn't going to come back. I was done being the third wheel and if he didn't realize how stupid he was being, then I wouldn't tell him anymore.

"Kagome?" Sango touched my shoulder lightly. "Is there anything else you want to do before we leave?"

I nodded. "Just give me a second."

I went into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of paper and pen and wrote a small note to Inuyasha.

_**Inuyasha,**_

_**I'm leaving. I'm fed up with you and Leila. Don't give me that look, since I know you will. Don't call me, don't even look for me. If you miss me, then ha-ha you got screwed—and royally, I might add. Don't call Sango, Ayame, Miroku, Kouga or even your father. They won't tell you a thing.**_

_** Goodbye.**_

A tear fell one the letter but I couldn't help it. I was pissed, and even though the note was sarcastic, I was still sad that I would have to do this. Kami knows whether or not I would ever come back. I guess Leila was getting was she wanted.

I walked out of my cottage, said goodbye to my little flower bed and goodbye to the whole place in general. I took my car though, so Inuyasha would know that I was being serious.

The scenery was blurry as I followed Sango's car, and it wasn't because of how fast I was going.

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"Kagome!" Ayame yelled as I opened the door for her. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Whoa," I laughed. "I thought you weren't going to make it. Kouga didn't mind that we were taking you for a night?"

Ayame winked. "Well, I had to convince him. He's set to deal without me one night."

I laughed and closed the door. She looked around the living room and smiled. "This place hasn't changed, huh?"

I nodded. Sango's house was just was it was since I met her. Kohaku was staying with Souta tonight at my mom's house per my request. My mother happily obliged.

"Why don't we go upstairs and get this party started?" I asked.

Ayame smiled and pulled me up the stairs. "Now we're talking!"

We played games, ate junk food to our heart's content and avoided the subject of Inuyasha and Leila entirely. Sango had filled Ayame in and she promised not to tell Inuyasha where I would be going, but I hoped it wouldn't be too obvious that I would be staying with my mother. I had called and told her that I needed a few days away from home and she understood completely. She didn't even ask me what was wrong, almost knowing that I didn't want to talk about it. Seriously, she was the best mom a girl could ever ask for.

"And Kouga can't mention it either," I pointed to Ayame as we discussed my living arrangements.

Ayame nodded. "He won't because he'll have me to deal with if he does." She smiled mischievously.

I grabbed another bag of chips and patted my belly. "I'm going to gain so much weight, but I don't even care! I feel liberated!" I giggled, falling onto a couple of pillows.

Sango laughed, throwing a pillow at me. "You're such a fatty!"

I laughed and grabbed a pillow from behind me. "You're going to pay for saying that!" I threw the pillow and it hit smack in the face, making her fall backwards. Ayame and I had tears running down our cheeks from laughing at Sango so hard.

Sango got up and grabbed the offending pillow and threw it at Ayame, who hadn't expected it and yelped. "Ha! That's you get for laughing!"

The pillow fight lasted for twenty minutes, and after, we were so exhausted that we just collapsed onto the floor.

I giggled, despite being out of breath. "That was fun."

"Yep. This is so much better than beating up Miroku." Sango said. Ayame and I glanced at her and all she did was shrug. "What?"

I chuckled softly and stood up. "Hey, I'm going to the bathroom, ok? I'll be right back."

They both nodded and I opened the door to go downstairs, since their only bathroom was right next to the kitchen. It was so inconvenient at times, especially if you had to pee real badly, like I did now. Maybe I shouldn't have drunk those eight soda cans.

As I neared the stairs, I didn't feel so well. I was a bit dizzy, but that could have been from all the hits I got with the pillow. I grabbed the railing of the stairs and walked down slowly so as not to fall, but the dizziness only got worse. I felt like I needed to throw up too. I made it to the bathroom and used it quickly but then the dizziness over came me.

All I could remember was the sound of cracking.

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The next thing I remembered was opening my eyes and a blinding light hitting them. I cringed a bit, alerting those around me that I was still alive. Ayame and Sango rushed forward.

"Kagome, are you okay?" Ayame grabbed my arm.

"Does it hurt? Tell me and I'll call the nurse!" Sango grabbed my other arm.

I was still disoriented and asked groggily, "Where am I?"

Sango answered. "The hospital,"

I blinked as my vision cleared. "What happened?"

"You fainted and fell down, Kagome." Ayame said. "You didn't come back up for ten minutes so we went to look for you. You were sprawled on the floor and the mirror was cracked."

"We were both scared." Sango admitted, glancing at Ayame and then back at me. "We thought it was Takeshi's work but it didn't seem that way. We took you to the hospital as fast as we could. You were barely breathing."

I sat up and touched my head. Yep, it was bandaged. "My head _does_ hurt, now that you mention it. What did the doctor say?"

"He took some tests and x-rays, but hasn't come back."

I lied back down. I wondered what was wrong. Was I sick? Was it from the stress? The door opened and I couldn't keep on thinking because the doctor had just come in.

He was a kind-looking man, with dark hair and dark eyes. He smiled warmly at me as he held some important looking papers in his hand.

"Hello, Ms. Kagome. I see that you're doing well. Any complaints?"

"Just that my head hurts."

The doctor nodded. "That is to be expected. You have a slight concussion."

I nodded. "Anything else, doctor? Am I good to go?"

The doctor then looked at some of his papers and glanced at me hesitantly. "Yes, you can but there's one more thing you should know, Kagome."

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

He then smiled. "Congratulations. You're pregnant."

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Pregnant? _Pregnant? _I couldn't believe it. Of all the things that could happen to me, I got pregnant. The doctor left right after that, leaving me with my thoughts confused. What was I going to do now?

"Kagome, you look worried." Ayame noted.

"Well, I am. I got pregnant!" I threw my hands up in exasperation.

Sango grabbed my hand. "Kagome, you're not thinking of. . ."

I shook my head when I realized what Sango was trying to say. "No, Sango. I want to keep this baby because it's as mine as it's Inuyasha's. I just don't know what to do now."

Sango smiled softly. "Don't worry about that, Kagome. This whole thing will blow over in a week at most. Inuyasha will come to his senses."

Kagome shook her head. "After leaving him that note? No, he'll probably hate me. Besides, it'll take a while to forgive him. I still love him with all my heart, but if there's no trust then what's the point?"

"Do you regret marrying him?" Ayame asked, twisting her own marriage ring.

I shook my head. "No, I would never regret marrying him. It's the best thing that's happened to me." Except having his baby, but I didn't voice this just yet.

Sango squeezed my hand. "Then what do you want to do? Do you want to tell him yet?"

"I'll wait for bit to get myself together. Just a couple of days and then I'll call him. If he isn't with that tramp." I huffed, crossing my arms.

Sango laughed. "Yep, you're still the same Kagome."

Ayame then jumped in, bouncing excitedly. "What are you going to name the baby if it's a boy?"

I shrugged. "I always figured naming him after Inuyasha." I laughed. "I'm not very creative am I?"

Sango shook her head. "I think it's cute. What if it's a girl?"

I smiled, since I knew exactly what name I wanted. "After Inuyasha's mother, Izayoi."

Ayame and Sango glanced at each other, smiling. "That's a wonderful name, Kagome." Ayame chimed.

"I liked it the first time I heard it. I visited her grave the day Inuyasha asked me to be his girlfriend. He did _that _in front of my father's grave." I laughed, smiling; reliving the memory was blissful. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

"Well, then. Ayame and I will get the papers for you to get out of this place and back home. Do you want us to drop you off at your mom's place?"

I nodded and leaned back onto the pillows as my friends left me by myself. Closing my eyes, I wondered what Inuyasha was doing right now. Was he still with Leila? Did he even miss her? I was worried; maybe I was being stupid for leaving, but I couldn't have thought of anything else. Not while Inuyasha was so disappointed with me and especially when he didn't believe me.

No, I'd have to wait to go back. I was still pissed at him, but I knew that I would miss him. My pride just wouldn't let me. School would be hell tomorrow and it would be even worse with having to work my first shift.

It was going to be one hard week.

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**A/N: Review!**

**~Daichi**


	10. Clueless husbands and skanks

**A/N: Well, I'm updating with the new chapter that was sent to me just today! Thanks so much, Bella and to all you readers who have been waiting patiently. Read, re-read and review!**

**Chapter 10: Dealing with clue-less husbands and skanks**

"You look like crap." Sango said the next day when I met her in front of the main building. She held up a mirror and I uninterestedly peered into it. I looked like a friggin zombie; I had slightly purple shadows under my eyes, I looked was unusually pale and my hair was frizzy. I shrugged and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I spent the night on my mom's couch watching late night infomercials. My doctor told me I couldn't sleep for 24 hours because of my concussion; people that fell asleep with concussions usually didn't wake up. Ever. . . And that wasn't something I was too eager to test.

"Will you make it through class?" Sango asked, concern in her voice.

I smiled, trying to show her that I was perfectly okay, even if I did look gross. "I sure hope so."I said following her into the classroom.

Common misconception: morning sickness only occurs in the morning. I wish somebody would've told me this before I had to find out on my own. I went to a little restaurant on campus -totally avoiding the spot that Inuyasha and I had chosen as out spot to meet up for lunch- and went inside to get something to eat. The first thing I noticed was how weird the place smelled. There were new things on the menu and I just figured that it was the spices they used to cook them that made the strange smells. So I ordered my favorite meal and eagerly started to eat it but found myself puking up my guts after a few bites. After that, anytime I got within smelling distance of food a wave of nausea rolled through my body and I had to run for the hills. Well hell, now I couldn't eat or sleep! Today was just not my day.

My last class of the day was journalism, the one class that I had Takeshi for. He hadn't been in a while but with the way things were going today I wasn't willing to take any chances. I decided that it would probably be best for me to go home and rest for a little bit. Plus, I needed to fix myself up—like a lot—today was my first day of work and I was sure that my boss would appreciate me looking at least half alive and semi peppy to be there. So I picked up my bag and headed for my car. I was totally surprised when someone ran up behind me and grabbed my hand. I braced myself and turned with a smart comment on my tongue half expecting to see, well I don't know exactly who I expected to see but the point is, I was totally ready for anything until I found myself staring into familiar golden eyes. Inuyasha didn't look any better than I did; which made me feel good that he was suffering, but sad at the same time. I didn't want to see him looking like everything had just been pulled out from under him anymore than I was sure he wanted to see me looking the way I was at the moment. For a moment I couldn't seem to do anything but stare at him.

"Kagome, what's wrong? You don't look well." Inuyasha began to pull me towards him and I let him. I wanted to be back in my husband's arms more than anything; to curl up and fall asleep and let him take care of me. "Why did you leave last night?" Suddenly, those words broke me out of my trance. I could feel anger flush through my body and I knew that my face was turning red.

"You don't know why I left?"

"No, I—I don't understand."

"You mean to tell me. . . You know what? I have nothing to say to you." I said pulling my hand from his grasp and turning back in the direction of my car.

"Kagome—Kagome please!"

I ignored Inuyasha's voice and speed walked to my car and locked the door once I was inside leaving Inuyasha on the outside begging for me to listen to him.

I had a lot of emotions boiling up inside me and it made me feel like I was suffocating. I was sad that things were so strained between Inuyasha and me, but then I was angry because he kept letting Leila get between us, and now he claimed to not know why I was mad at him. How dense could the man be? And I was even angrier because I couldn't tell him about the best thing that ever happened to us, couldn't tell him that I was pregnant with his child, our child. _Our baby_. I kept thinking about how much I wanted to share this with him, how I wanted him to know that we had created something beautiful together. I was feeling so amazed, and freaked out and tired but happy all at once and Inuyasha had no idea that our child even existed and it drove me nuts. He should know this, needed to know this but I couldn't bring myself to talk about it under these circumstances. I felt like I was going to burst. I just couldn't take it anymore! This is not how I wanted things to be.

"Go away!" I screamed through the window at Inuyasha before putting my head against the steering wheel and taking a few breaths. "I'm okay, I'm okay." I said to myself in a small voice before turning on the car and pulling out of the parking lot, praying that I would make it through the rest of the day. I figured that might not happen as the tears slipped down my cheeks.

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I didn't make it home until later that night. I kicked off my shoes and collapsed onto my bed. I was deathly tired, but I was feeling a lot better now. My first day of work went well; a big thing considering how my day had started off. The girl I worked with was cool. She had broken me out of my shyness that I had felt by cracking jokes and continuously talking to me. Not only that but she helped me out anytime I had a problem and just seemed generally happy to work with me. I chuckled slightly. I was actually looking forward to going to work tomorrow.

School? Well, that was something else. After what had happened, I wanted to just take a break and definitely avoid Inuyasha at all costs. I sighed as my stomach rumbled and went downstairs. My mom was sitting on the couch in the living room drinking a glass of tea.

"Hello Kagome, how are you?" She smiled, sipping a bit of her tea.

"Ok, I guess. I'm hungry, but I spent all of today throwing up so I'm kinda afraid to eat." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Aw, you poor thing, I know just how that feels. I'll make you something that won't make you feel sick and you can tell me about your day, ok honey?" She stood up and placed a kiss on my forehead like she used when I was little.

"Sure," I said hesitantly following her into the kitchen while giving her a recap of my day, leaving out most of the details. No need to make her depressed too. She set a bowl of soup with lots of diced vegetables in front of me. I looked up at her quizzically.

"Try it." She smiled, nudging the bowl closer to me. I hesitantly took up a spoonful, then another. I waited for fifteen minutes and when nothing happened I finished the soup.

"Mom, that was delicious." I said, licking the spoon clean. I wanted more, a lot more but I wanted to wait. I still didn't trust my stomach to hold what I had eaten. So mom told me about her day and I ate another small bowl before going upstairs to my room. It felt like it hadn't been a long time since I had called this place my room and in reality, it wasn't. I stared at the empty pillow covered bed and frowned a little before climbing in and falling into a deep, long-needed sleep.

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I felt like a refugee, and escaped prisoner of war, a runaway convict or something to that effect. Inuyasha had been waiting for me after all of my classes and I'd been finding alternate exits to leave from just so I wouldn't have to face him. I know this sounds really cowardly, but I honestly just didn't want to risk running into him and having to try to ignore him all the way to another class. I didn't want to make a scene and have the whole school know my problems. I mean, staying at my mom's house was embarrassing enough.

I peeked out of the window of the art building, only to see that Inuyasha was still standing on the grass in front of the building. The art building was the smallest on campus; it had only one floor and about eight studios. The only door in the building would lead me out to where Inuyasha was. I was trapped and I bet he knew it too. He waited outside for a few minutes more until he asked one of my classmates something and they nodded. He started walking towards the building. Crap! All of the other studios were locked except mine! There was no way I was about to go in there. The front door began to open and I panicked and ducked inside the bathroom. My heart was racing.

_This is really stupid._ I thought to myself but that didn't stop me from running out of the building the first second the coast was clear.

I was halfway to my car when I ran smack into someone and my stuff fell onto the floor. "Oh gosh I'm so sor-" I looked up to see who I'd run into and shut my mouth when I did.

"You know, if you keep doing this Inuyasha might actually start to believe that you want to hurt me."

"Shut up, skank." I didn't even bother calling her by her name. I bent down to pick up my stuff that obviously she wasn't going to try to help with.

"Let's not start with the hostilities so soon. Oh and next to me you decide to hit me, do me a favor and not aim for my face." Leila pushed back her bangs to reveal a purplish-blue bruise around her eye. Had I really hit her hard enough to do that? Ha! Guess I didn't know my own strength.

"Well if you'd leave my husband alone you wouldn't have to worry about it." Leila let out a short laugh.

"You honestly think I want Inuyasha?" She snorted. "You're so clueless. I don't even find him attractive." She casually looked at her nails. "I mean really, the _freak_ has silver hair and _freakish_ golden eyes. That's not natural. Why would you marry him, and risk passing on genes like that?" I instinctively wrapped my arms around my torso.

"Don't you dare talk about my husband that way." I hissed, my hands fisted at my sides. I knew Inuyasha hated being called that. A _freak_. "Just leave us alone, because you're really starting to piss me off and I'm not going to put up with it for much longer. You say you don't like Inuyasha? Then stay the hell away from him!" I walked up to her, pushing her with my index finger. "And believe me, the next time I hit you, you'll walk away with more than a black eye."

"Is that a threat?" She lightly mused, laughing.

"No, it's a promise."

Leila's eyes opened wide and a pitiful look came over her face. "Inuyasha, see? She still wants to hurt me!" Leila ran past me and towards Inuyasha who shook her off. I applauded that in my head, but only for a second.

"Kagome . . ."

I shook my head and walked away. This was going to be harder than I thought.

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**A/N: Ok you guys, that was Bella's chapter! Please, please review so we know how you liked it! You can give us complaints, insults at the characters, your favorite parts etc. Just give us something! **

** ~Daichi**


	11. New Moon

**A/N: Hello, it's Daichi! I hope you guys liked Bella's last chapter. Review more you guys! Authors like me count on your feedback! How else are we going to know what you guys liked and disliked? Give me the 411 after reading!**

**Chapter 11: New Moon**

I couldn't believe her! Of all the stupid, conniving things she had to do that? Trying to run into my husband's arms, where the only person who should really be there was _me_? I got in my car as quickly as I could and shut the door with more force than I ever thought I had. I reversed as soon as I could and watched as Inuyasha's figure slowly got smaller until he was out of sight.

I didn't make it far before I had to stop. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't stop crying. It was for a lot of things, I guess. My anger, my heart-break and my bitterness. I hated the way Inuyasha felt so torn, but what other way was he ever going to learn? I had tried telling him, but it hadn't worked. What else could I do? I let my head fall onto the steering wheel.

It was all Naraku's fault. Maybe not directly, but he had lots to do with it. If he hadn't murdered Inuyasha's mother, if he hadn't decided that Inuyasha and I couldn't be together, if he hadn't sent Takeshi to get me, all of this would have been avoided.

Of course, staying with Inuyasha could have done all of that too.

I shook my head. I was not going to doubt my love for Inuyasha, even if he was a stupid, hard-headed husband. I wouldn't trade meeting him for the world and I certainly would trade having his baby for anything else either.

I touched my stomach when I thought of the baby. Our baby, our child. I wished Inuyasha could know, but I still wasn't prepared for him to find out.. Besides, the week wasn't up yet and he would have to wait until then, no matter how sad he would get. Even if it hadn't been a long time, I felt that I already loved my baby. I smiled softly at the thought of a little child with silver hair and cute little ears running around.

Finally, the tears stopped and I was able to drive home. There was a note on the door stating that my family had gone out but it didn't bother me. I was used to them going somewhere whenever I wasn't there. Ripping the note off the door, I entered quickly and went to go sit on the couch.

I groaned as I felt a wave of nausea hit me. That was the fourth time today! I knew having a baby was hard, but this hard? I wanted to just get it over with. My phone vibrated and I rummaged through my pockets until I finally found it. Seeing that it was Sango that was calling, I picked up.

"Hi Sango," I greeted.

"_Hey Kagome How are you feeling?" _

I shook my head. "Not great. The nausea is getting worse with each day."

Sango laughed on the other end. _"I hope you feel better_." She paused. _"Hey,"_ she said, _"I saw Inuyasha hanging around your classes and talking to your classmates. Did he try to talk to you?"_

Suddenly, the anger I felt was suddenly back. "Oh yeah." I fumed. I was late for five classes thanks to him. Plus, I even got home late. He confronted me in the parking lot and said that he had no idea why I had left. Can you believe that?"

Sango sighed. _"Kagome, I know that he hasn't figured it out yet, but shouldn't you try to go back? It's obvious that he misses you and that you miss him. Besides, you haven't told him of the baby."_

I rolled my eyes. "I don't care if he misses me or not. I'm not going back until the week is up. If he's smart, he'll have figured it out by then."

Sango again sighed. _"Suit yourself."_ She added, _"I just want you to be happy."_

I sighed on my side of the line. "Yeah, I know. I know."

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The next day was the same. I ducked into my classes as quickly as I could without getting sighted by Inuyasha, but it was getting harder not to just drop everything and run into his arms. Sometimes, I would sneak to his class to see him on my way to the bathroom. He looked so down, so depressed. I randomly thought about what he must doing at home without me. Leila popped into my mind and I scowled, walking away from the glass window.

No doubt Leila was throwing up a party every night in our house. She didn't even damn like him! Why was she getting closer to Inuyasha, then? Was there just some ulterior motives that I couldn't see? I rounded the corner, but quickly tip-toed back when I realized who was in the hall.

Takeshi and Leila were in a corner in the other hallway, talking in low voices, but not low enough. I could still hear part of their conversation.

"How long do I have to keep this up?" Leila whined. It took all my self-control to not grab and choke her.

Takeshi leaned in closer, planting a hot and sweaty kiss on Leila. I had to look away and then pretended to gag. It was disgusting to see them both together like that. I swallowed away my disgust and turned to see if I could hear them better.

"Just a little longer," he smirked. "Then I'll have my revenge on that wench for putting me in jail. She'll pay dearly for that."

"Good." Leila said, pointing to her face. "After she hit me like this, she deserves to suffer."

I gulped, but I was too entranced to leave. I needed to know more before I could leave or else I wouldn't be able to figure out his plan.

"That's a good girl." Takeshi laughed, but even his laugh was dark and maniac-like. It made the hair on my back stand up and goosebumps to appear. He was truly a psychotic murderer.

"Takeshi," Leila smiled, flattening her hands on his chest. "What exactly are you going to do?"

I pressed myself closer to the wall, glad that they were facing the other way.

"Hmm . . . I don't think I should tell you just yet, my pet."

"But why not? Haven't I helped enough? Don't you trust me?"

Takeshi once again laughed that dark laughter that I detested so much. "Oh no, my dear. It's just that the details are to grotesque for a woman's ears to hear."

The knot that had been forming in my stomach until then tightened the most it could. I didn't want to hear anymore. I backed away, power-walking the other direction. Sweat trailed down my face and my hands were beginning to get clammy. I had to get out of there and fast. For some reason, the way Takeshi said those words had me scared and sent a shiver down my back. I couldn't even imagine what he might do to me.

Suddenly, I realized for a concrete fact that it was because of him that Leila started hunting out Inuyasha. He was trying to keep us apart, so that his plan could work. I was falling right into it so easily, not even he could have predicted that.

But there was still the matter of my feelings. I still felt a little betrayed by him and that small doubt made it's home of my heart. I didn't want to feel this way anymore, but I couldn't help it. Takeshi or no, Inuyasha had still let Leila between us, even after we had promised ourselves to each other.

I reached my classroom a little dazed and sat down again. It was better if I got used to being like this. It was for the best.

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The week passes almost slowly, but it was now the fifth day of the week and I felt as if I couldn't take it anymore. I slowly started sinking into a depression, and maybe I started understanding what Inuyasha must have been feeling. I didn't want to eat (and it wasn't because of the nausea either) and I locked myself in my room. I didn't even accept phone calls and it wasn't until Sango visited me that I finally opened up.

"Kagome," She pleaded. "Please, tell me what's wrong. Everyone's been trying to call you but you haven't picked up your phone. Even your little brother is worried about you."

I was laying face down on my bed, my head buried in my pillows. "I'd rather not face the world right now. Too much crap is going on."

Sango sighed and I didn't need to see her to know that she rolled her eyes. "Spare me the drama, drama queen." She grabbed my outstretched hand and squeezed it. "You're not okay and I don't need to be by you to know that. Tell me what's wrong."

I sighed in defeat, turning to face my insistent friend. "I overheard Takeshi and Leila talking at the college."

"WHAT?" Sango shouted. "How did he get close to you without any of our posts catching him?"

I went on to explain. "I think it's because he wasn't trying to get near me. He just wanted a status report from Leila."

Sango silently fumed, opening her mouth to say something but then closing it again. I almost laughed at the scene because I had never known Sango to be one without a few "choice" words for people she detested. Miroku knows quite a number of them, of course. But I didn't laugh because the situation was just so serious.

When she finally spoke, Sango said. "Oh, he's going to die. DIE I TELL YOU!" She stood up and shouted this out my window, shaking her fist with a fury that knoweth no hell . . . I had to pull her away before the neighbors called the police.

"Sango, I know it's frustrating, but please, don't yell out your murder plans to the whole world!"

She huffed, grabbing a piece of stray hair and placing it behind her ear. "I know, but I just couldn't help it. It pisses me off to no end!" Her hands were in the air, so I made sure to be at least a couple of feet away from her. "What did they talk about anyway?"

I sighed, falling on my bed and letting my hands cover my face. "They were talking about me and Inuyasha." I suddenly sat up, eyes on Sango. "Do you know she doesn't even like him? She called him a freak. A freak!"

"Then why is she after him?"

I shook my head. "They were talking about that. She asked how much longer she was going to keep up after him. Takeshi said it wasn't long before he. . . does something." I gulped a the last words, knowing that they were an understatement. "This was all planned, Sango. He wants us to be apart, to fight each other. I don't know why, but I can tell you I fell for it really quick." Fresh tears spilled from my eyes. "I'm so stupid!"

Sango pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back soothingly. "You are not stupid, Kagome."

I shook my head. "I am because I can't get over it! Not even knowing that it was Takeshi's fault made it better."

Sango spoke softly. "I don't blame you for still feeling betrayed. You still got hurt, despite whose fault it was. You just have to find it in your heart to forgive Inuyasha."

I sighed. "I know, and I've been thinking about it all week." I sniffled. "Avoiding him just gets harder and harder every time I see him."

Sango pulled back, grabbing me by my shoulders and looking at me dead in the face. "I think it's time a certain wife got back home to her husband." She smiled softly. "You love him too much to be away from him even this short of time."

I nodded. "You're right. I love Inuyasha and I shouldn't let anything get in between that." I smiled, brushing a stray tear from my eye. "Thanks Sango."

Sango laughed and waved my thanks away. "Oh, don't mention it." She got off the bed and pulled me with her. "But now we have to go out and shop!"

"Shop? Why shop?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

Sango rolled her eyes. "Duh. Any girl that's depressed cheers up when they shop. It doesn't matter who, where or what, but they do."

"Ok." I shrugged, grabbing my keys and my purse. The job was really paying well, by the way. "We'll just shop 'til you drop!"

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After the shopping was all done and after I had bought myself some new clothes (and future maternity clothes of course) I sank down on my bed and sighed. Time to face the real world and finally go home. The word _home_ struck a chord in me, and I was so happy to think of my little cottage as home. I would be where I was supposed to be and no one, and I mean NO ONE, was going to move me out of that spot.

As I packed my bags, I wondered how I would tell Inuyasha about the baby. Would he be happy? Would he be upset that I kept it from him for this long? I just didn't know anymore. Hopefully, he'd just go to option number one. I don't think I could deal with option number two that well at the moment. I probably storm off again.

"Thanks for letting me stay, mom!" I said, giving her a quick kiss on her cheek. She just smiled and winked at me, returning to her magazine.

"Anytime, dear. Just make sure to eat well!" She called out.

"I will!" I shouted, just before closing the door. I took deep, calming breaths to get me prepared. I already saw Sango outside waiting to ride behind me and I waved at her. She smiled and turned on her car, returning my wave just as enthusiastically.

I drove down the familiar rode again, and I couldn't help but smile at the thought of being with Inuyasha again. I wanted to just run into his arms and declare to the whole world that nothing was going to keep us apart. Not a thing.

I looked out the window, noticing that it was already dark and that the stars were already out. I couldn't see the moon, but the trees were pretty thick so I didn't dwell on it. I parked in the little driveway of the cottage, quickly getting out. Sango parked behind me, but stayed in the car. A wise choice, if you ask me. You never know what could happen now.

I glanced at the windows and noticed that it was all dark inside. I frowned. I thought he would be here when I got home finally, but I couldn't blame him. It wasn't like I called him to tell him I was on my way or anything. I grabbed my keys and unlocked the door, letting it slowly open.

I smiled as I looked inside. The place was just like I left it. It was spotless, immaculate. I guess those cleaning lessons with Inuyasha paid off. I walked into the kitchen and then noticed that the real mess was in there. I chuckled as I saw all the ramen wraps strewn over the stove and near the microwave. At least I knew that he fed himself.

Walking to our room and throwing my stuff on the bed, I noticed something was wrong. I tried shrugging off the feeling, but there was no denying it. I looked about until something white caught my eye. I gulped and grabbed in and unfolded it with shaking hands.

_Oh Kagome. By the time you get this note, Inuyasha will not be there. You fell into my trap nicely. I knew that Leila would prove an asset to my plan and it did. You were separated from your half-breed for just long enough to make my move. I knew you were listening down the hallway. I planned it perfectly. _

_ If you want to see Inuyasha again, I suggest you come and find me. If not . . . well, you know what I am capable of. I shall be in old warehouse on the outskirts of town. _

I was shocked. More than that, really. Everything was just crashing down to hard and to fast. How the hell did he have Inuyasha? That wasn't even possible! He's half-demon for goodness sake! The only time he would ever be vulnerable was if he was . . . if he was . . .

I ran to the window and pulled away the curtains. Sure enough, the moon wasn't there. How could I have forgotten Inuyasha's monthly change? I backed away, trying to think it through. If there was one thing I knew, it was that he changed back in the morning. He'd be alright . . . right?

But then I thought about Takeshi. He'd take advantage of this night and kill him. If I didn't show up to save him, he might not have a chance. Even though he was still stronger than most humans, he still had the liabilities of one.

I walked out of the living room, glancing out the window. Knowing that Sango would immidieatly try to talk me out of getting Inuyasha back, I decided on a plan. Walking onto the drive way, I knocked on her window, watching it roll down.

"What's up?"

I gave my best smile. "Nothing. I just want to tell you thanks. The shopping really helped." I paused. "You should probably get home. Miroku might get upset if you keep him waiting." I winked at her.

She laughed and glanced up at me. "You sure you'll be alright? Have you talked to Inuyasha?"

I swallowed the lie that was coming. "Yes, of course. He's fine with everything. Now run along back to Miroku." I ushered her out.

She smiled and shifted gears. "Well, if you say so Kagome. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

It there was even going to be a tomorrow.

When I was sure she was gone, I ran back into the cottage. I had to figure out a way to not just walk in without being prepared. I walked around the house, looking for things that Inuyasha kept around the house just in case someone broke in. I found a pistol in the bedroom closet (I don't why he'd have it. Once swipe with his claws or one punch and whoever it was aimed was gone for) but I found something interesting under our bed.

It was an old, tattered looking sword. I vaguely remembered it being given to Inuyasha as a wedding present from his father. He said something about some special power, but I couldn't remember exactly. Inuyasha never used it though. No harm to bring it though, right?

I grabbed all my comfortable black clothes and donned them. If I was going to save my husband, I had to look the part at least. Pulling my hair into a high ponytail and strapping the sword and gun around my waist, I was ready to kick some serious Takeshi butt.

Because this time, I wasn't going to be the damsel in distress. Oh no.

I'm going to be the one who does the saving_ this_ time around.

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**A/N: So we're getting closer to the end! This story wasn't supposed to be that long anyway, so we're picking up the pace. Also, since school is out, I'll have more time to dedicate to writing. The reason I haven't in a while is because I've been hooked on this show called "Ghost Hunters." I'm a really obsessed fan-girl right now. I hope this chapter was good enough to get some nice reviews!**

** So click that little button right under this, and drop me a note!**

**~Daichi**


	12. Wild goose chase

**A/N: Ok, here's the next awesome chapter for "After the honey moon ends"! We're soooo close to the end. T-T**

** Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine. He's Rumiko Takahashi's and Kagome's.**

**Chapter 12 : Wild goose chase**

_ You can do this. Get Inuyasha and get revenge. Get back at Takeshi for everything. He nearly ruined your marriage, made you miserable. Make him regret every moment he spent terrorizing you. Make Takeshi pay for crying out loud!_

Enough of the pep-talk; time was wasting. It was really late and I didn't know how much time I had to get Inuyasha out of there. I got out of the car and strapped the gun to my pants. I decided to leave the sword. I didn't think it would help me out too much. I walked up to the warehouse and strode right in when I found the door, there was no reason to be sneaky; Takeshi was expecting me anyhow.

The further in the warehouse, the angrier I got. For a second I felt so mad, I thought I would punch whoever got within hitting distance, but no, I needed to remember what Inuyasha told me when he first started teaching me to fight.

Be in control; always stay in control of yourself.

"Takeshi, where are you?" I demanded, my voice loud and clear. He wasn't getting a coward messing with me. I heard some shuffling before Takeshi appeared at the top of a staircase, Leila right at his side.

"Kagome, you came!" Takeshi greeted me as if I were a welcomed guest. Maybe in his mind I was, but I sure wasn't going to act like a good guest.

"Where's Inuyasha?" I shouted up, ignoring his greeting.

"Don't worry about him. He's safe . . . for now at least." His smile grew wider. "Why don't you come up here so we can talk?" A smirk curved on his lips and I wanted to run from there as fast as I could, but I stood my ground. I had business with this low-life.

"I don't have time for this." I growled. I could feel my face pulling into a scowl and my hands became fists at my sides. "Just give me my husband so I can go. I really don't want to do this the hard way." My hand itched toward the gun I had strapped at my waist.

"Kagome, there's only one thing I want from you right—" Takeshi started.

I cut him off. "Well that's too damn bad, because I'm not willing to give it to you!" I exclaimed thinking about how Takeshi tried to rape me a while ago. No way was I gonna let that man touch me with his blood-stained hands. No way in Hell.

"Well, can't say I didn't try." He said, as if saying that he was washing his hands of this. He then turned to his lovely assistant beside him. "Leila if you would, please."

Leila slowly made her way down the stairs as if she were walking down a catwalk. That didn't help my mood one bit. When she reached the hard packed dirt floor I noticed her shoes. She was wearing stilettos.

"Really?" I raised my eyebrow incredulously. This girl was just too full of herself.

"This fight shouldn't take too long." She smiled sweetly. "Why waste time taking them off?"

_ This trick. _I thought rolling my eyes. Leila slowly circled me and I kept my eyes on her. She suddenly struck out at me and without thinking I raised my hand and wrapped it around her wrist, stopping her before she could touch my face. She tried to do the same with the other, but I grabbed that hand too before twisting her around and kicking her in the back. Leila hit the dirt floor with a thud. She got back up and glared at me before sending a series of punches my way. I dodged them all of them and that pissed her off even more.

"Come here you little evasive bitch!"

Leila ran towards me and wrapped her hands around my neck. I admit it now, Leila was a lot stronger than I thought and my clawing at her hands did absolutely nothing. I was starting to feel lightheaded. I slammed my foot down on hers and she screamed and instantly let me go. I gasped, finally able to breathe and retreated back a few steps giving myself some space and hopefully, more time to think.

"Higurashi! What's it going to take for you to fight me?"

"I don't want to fight you." I responded, rubbing the pain from my neck. Fighting was not a good thing in my condition anyway.

"Too bad." A devilish grin came over Leila's face and there was a knowing glint in her eyes.

Suddenly I knew what she was thinking and the realization made my heart pound faster.

They knew I was pregnant. I don't know how they had figured it out seeing as I had only found out a few days ago myself but they did. And I also got the feeling that they knew something I didn't and it freaked the hell of me.

This time when Leila came after me, all of her punches were directed at my abdomen. I didn't know how much harm the impact would have on the baby since I wasn't very far along, but I didn't want to take any chances. I made sure to block each and every one of Leila's punches and even threw a few myself.

"Takeshi, make her stop! Maybe we can work something out." I called up to him, hoping I'd be able to trick him long enough to get Inuyasha out of here.

"Sorry, you already had that chance."

"Takeshi, please." I was getting tired and Leila had backed me into a corner. It was quiet for a moment as Takeshi thought and Leila and I warily eyed each other.

"Okay, Leila let her up here." I waited for Leila to move but she didn't. She just stared at me with a look of hatred and disbelief in her eyes.

"I don't know why he likes you more than he likes me." Leila said quietly, enough that only I could hear.

"Leila, he doesn't love you. He's using you." I whispered back. Leila had to know that, right?

I'm not too sure what happened at this point in time. I know Leila tried to kick me in my stomach but I moved enough that she ended up kicking the wall and her shoe broke through the drywall. The next thing I remember was sitting on top of her with the intent of making her face look like hamburger meat, but Takeshi ran down the stairs and pulled me off of her.

"Let go of me Takeshi!" I shouted, struggling against his tight grip. I didn't even notice he was touching me with all the rage I felt that Leila had tried to hurt my baby.

"Calm down first." He said soothingly into my ear.

Bad idea.

"Let me go!" I screamed. I swung my arm back and heard a crack as my elbow connected with his nose. I ran for the stairs and scrambled up to the large loft-like area.

"Inuyasha. . ." I looked around. There was absolutely no one up here. I was alone.

"That's right Kagome." Takeshi laughed. "It was all a trap!"

Takeshi took his hand away from his bloodied nose and gave me a creepy smile, sending shivers down my back and cursing myself for falling for the trap.

Crap.

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Inuyasha pulled into the driveway, surprised to see the kitchen light on. He went to check it out, but everything was just as he left it and the ramen wrappers were still on the counter. He grabbed them and dumped them into the trash before heading to the room. A small smile came over his face when he saw Kagome's duffel bag on her preferred side of the bed, but it soon faded. Kagome was probably still mad at him.

He walked around the house hoping to see her in one of the other rooms so he could apologize. Hopefully she would forgive him. He felt like crap after having her mad at him for a whole week and wasn't sure if he could take much more of the silent treatment and her cold glares. All he knew was he was never going to let this happen again.

Finally he came to the conclusion that she was nowhere in the house. She'd probably gone back to her mom's place to pick up something she'd forgotten. He shrugged; she'd been gone this long, another few minutes wouldn't kill him too much. Inuyasha's stomach growled like an angry bear. He was so hungry it almost hurt. He hadn't eaten much all day and now, in his human form he seemed to be low on energy. A bowl of instant ramen seemed to be all that he could manage right now.

He was on his way to the kitchen when he noticed a piece of paper on the floor; he was about to throw it away but noticed his name somewhere on it. His eyes scanned over the page and his heart stopped. He crumpled the paper and threw it away. He had a bad feeling he knew where Kagome was and it wasn't anywhere near her mom's house. His cellphone was in his hand in a flash.

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Sango, Ayame, Miroku and Kouga stood in the living room waiting for Inuyasha to instruct them on what they were going to do but all Inuyasha was doing was pacing back and forth like a mad man and wearing a spot on Kagome's favorite rug.

"Inuyasha, I know you're worried but we need to come up with a plan." Ayame said, crossing her arms. "We have to do whatever we can to get Kagome out of there!" Her arms waved in the air and she walked to lean onto Kouga's shoulder. "Because we can't be sure of how much time we have left before something happens to her."

The comment hit Inuyasha, stopping him in his tracks and pulling him out of his strange little trance.

"I know, but look at me!" He motioned to his black hair and dark eyes as if motioning to something annoying. Everyone knew how Inuyasha felt about his weakened human form, but he went on anyway. "I don't know if I'm strong enough to save her right now."

Sango pulled away from Miroku and firmly said, "You don't have a choice Inuyasha! You're going to have to be strong enough." Her eyes pierced Inuyasha. "Your wife and child are depending on you to get them out of harm's way!"

"Child?" Inuyasha asked in a quiet voice. All the blood drained from his face and he took on the deer-in-headlights look.

"Yes, Kagome's pregnant, how could you forget?" Sango said and then realized what she had done. "Oh god!" She exclaimed. "You weren't supposed to know! Kagome was going to wait until after she got home and you guys weren't mad at each other and . . . and . . . Oh, damn it I'm so sorry." Everyone stood looking back and forth from Sango to Inuyasha trying to figure out what was going to happen as Inuyasha began to look more pissed than any of them had ever seen him.

"My wife is pregnant and in the hands of Takeshi?" Inuyasha growled out, his hand clenching tight around his car keys. Sango nodded. She looked like she was either going to cry or be sick. Maybe both.

"Let's go." Inuyasha wrenched opened the door and the other followed out to their cars. Before getting in Inuyasha called out to the others, "Our only plan is to get Kagome out of there without having her or the baby harmed."

The others nodded as he got in the car and slammed the gas pedal, zooming off before anyone else could.

There was no way he was going to let Kagome and his child stay with Takeshi for long.

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_ Congrats! Great job Kagome, give yourself a pat on the back because you just won the stupid award!' _I thought, _'Oh wait you can't because you're all tied up. _Put that together with the "worst wife in the world" and the "endanger the life of your unborn child award" and I was just going to be a freakin' celebrity. Yay me.

How could I not see this coming? Ugh, I was so pissed at myself. I walked straight into Takeshi's trap. What the hell was I thinking coming out here on my own anyhow? I shook my head.

"Kagome, what's wrong? You look upset." Takeshi asked from the other side of the loft where he was cleaning up Leila's face. It didn't look like hamburger meat but the effect was pleasing enough.

"I can't feel my hands and my shoulders hurt from being pulled back. And the floor's not exactly the most comfortable place to be, you know." I retorted smartly. If being a smart-ass was a virtue, I was on my way to becoming a saint.

"I won't untie your hands Kagome." Takeshi said, his voice patient. He was being oddly nice to me right now and I was getting the chills from it even more than when he was being a jerk.

"Can you at least tie them in the front?" I chanced asking him. If he was going to be nice, I at least I could take advantage of it.

"Maybe later."

I sighed loudly like a belligerent two year old before falling silent. How was I going to get out of this one? No one knew where I was, my hands and feet were tied so I couldn't run off and I had absolutely no way of getting into contact with anyone. _Hey wait, I just won the FML award. Four in one day. I think that's a record!_

What was I going to do? Since Takeshi was being so nice to me I guess I could play into him and get him to warm up to me long enough to be able to get word out to somebody. It was all I had at the moment; might as well try.

"Takeshi," I called in a slightly whiny voice. "This is really starting to hurt my shoulders. I feel like they're burning." I shifted around a few times making it look like I was trying to get comfortable and let a pained expression take over my face. That wasn't too hard because my shoulders really did burn. It was only a minute before he came over and knelt in front of me so we were at eye level with each other.

"I'm going to tie your hands in the front." He said, not taking his gaze off of my face. "I don't want you to do anything stupid though or you'll suffer the consequences, okay?"

I nodded. Takeshi untied one of my hands and moved my arms so they were facing forward before tying them again. "Good girl. Is that better?" Takeshi asked pushing my bangs from my face. It took all of my willpower for me to not cringe away from his touch. I nodded again. "Ok. Let's get you somewhere comfortable."

Takeshi helped me up and led me over to the other side of the loft where Leila was passed out on an air mattress. A few feet over, there was a living room chair. Running towards it like a bull, I sat down in the chair.

"Okay, now that you're comfortable let's talk." Takeshi stood in front of me, a sweet but still creepy smile on his face. "Listen Kagome, I really like you a lot. I tried to tell you this at your friend's wedding but I guess I came on a bit too strong for you. I want to try this again. Please, just give me a chance, you'll see, I'm a really nice guy once you get to know me. We can work things out."

"What about Leila?" I asked breathlessly. This was weird, plain freaking weird.

"Don't worry about her; I just keep her around to keep me entertained. A toy, I guess you could say. It's you I really want. I can't explain the extent of my desire to be with you."

"I can't." I said through clenched teeth

"I know, there's the problem of Inuyasha, but I can deal with him easy. And the baby, I know you probably want to keep it, and I guess we could, but honestly I can get that taken care of, we can get rid of it. I even have somebody who's willing to come out here and do it so we wouldn't have to go to their office. Then we can get you pregnant with mine. We can be happy Kagome, we can be a family."

Takeshi was on his knees in front of me now, a hopeful look on his face. I just stared back at him in horror. I would never voluntarily let him take Inuyasha's baby out of me, never ever. I would rather die before I let that happen.

I was so appalled I couldn't speak, couldn't even think of something to say. I just stared at him. "I know this comes as such a shock. I'll give you a little bit to warm up to the idea before we talk some more okay." Takeshi leaned down and tried to kiss me. That snapped me out of my silence.

"You sick bastard!" I yelled. "I love Inuyasha, not you! What makes you think I would want to ever be with you? And I would never, ever get rid of Inuyasha's baby, especially not to get impregnated by you! That's just sick." I spat.

"You won't feel that way after a while." Takeshi said as if he could change my mind. He just grabbed my chin and smiled at me. "I'll be right back, kitten." He got up, letting my face go and turned to check on Leila.

I'd had enough of this and suddenly I remembered that I had a gun_. How is that I forgot?_ I reached down and with a little difficulty, pulled out the gun that had been hidden by my shirt. I aimed it at Takeshi and pulled of the safety lock. He turned and looked at me wide eyed.

"You wouldn't."

"I would. Now come untie me." I growled. "I've had enough of playing games with you."

He held up his hands. "Kagome, let's be reasonable-"

I rolled my eyes and cut him off. "Now!"

Takeshi untied my feet while warily watching the gun I had aimed at him. I shook my feet, gaining enough feeling to walk. I ordered Takeshi to walk back to where Leila was, about ten feet away and he did. With one hand I began to untie the knot around my wrists. I had almost gotten it undone when the next thing I knew Takeshi had lunged at me and we were wrestling one another on the ground for the gun.

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Inuyasha and the others got out of the car and stared up at the warehouse. Inuyasha noticed Kagome's car off to the side and went over to it. What was his sword doing in her car? Without thinking, he pulled on the door handle and surprisingly, it opened. He grabbed his sword and walked back up to the group.

"Alright guys, let's go." They were about halfway up the dirt path to the warehouse when there was a gunshot and a scream that sounded a lot like Kagome's rattled the old, rickety warehouse.

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I screamed as a gunshot, totally freaking out that it would hit me. I rolled to the side and realized that I hadn't been the one to get hit. In front of me stood a sight I had never thought I would see.

Takeshi was hit in his leg and he hissed in pain as he laid in the pool of blood. I lifted my gaze to see Leila, battered face and all, with a gun in her hand and ready to shoot again. I guess she did have some courage.

"You fucking bastard!" She yelled, the tears running down her face. "You lied to me! You fucking _lied_ to me!" She cocked the gun for another shot. I was too shocked to move but my eyes landed on Takeshi.

He turned to her and yelled, "What the hell are you doing, Leila?"

She gripped the gun tighter. "Doing what I should have done a long time ago! You told me that you only wanted revenge, but I wake up to hear that you want to have _babies_ with her? Seriously, what the hell do you want?" She shouted hysterically. I almost felt sorry for her, but then I remembered what she had done. Nope, no sympathy for her.

I watched as Takeshi looked at her pleadingly, but I could tell that it was fake. "I was just trying to lull her into a fall sense of security! I really do love you!"

"Shut up!" Leila yelled. "Shut the hell up!"

Wanting to not witness anything more, I tried moving to the side, but Leila turned to me with the gun instead. "You," she hissed. "This is your fault! Your damn fault for even existing! I should kill you right now." She said through clenched teeth.

My gaze locked onto the gun, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Takeshi grab the gun that I so carelessly left behind and point it at Leila.

"Leila, watch out!" I yelled.

But Leila didn't move in time. My hands reached out to her and I heard myself screaming as she was hit by the bullet and the force of it sent her flying over the side of the small thin bar that was the boundary of the loft and the empty space of the warehouse. She was so shocked that she just stared at me, eyes wide and mouth slack. My horrified and shocked face was more than fitting for the occasion.

Once I heard the thump of her body hitting the ground, I turned back to Takeshi, horrified. His wound was still gushing blood, but not as much as before. His eyes were cold as he stared at the place where Leila had fallen over and I realized that I was looking at a man who had just murdered someone. My hands were shaking and I knew that he'd kill me if I didn't move, but I couldn't.

"Now," He cocked the gun and turned to me. "It's your turn."

He was about to shoot when I heard someone scream, "Kagome!"

My face lit up like the fourth of July. My body responded and I looked over the railing, seeing a sword run through the front door. I turned around and saw Takeshi's hardened face as he grabbed me around my neck and pulled me to him, the gun at my forehead.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled when he had slashed through the door. I saw my friends not far behind him. I could only stare at Inuyasha's face, his violet eyes and jet-black hair and felt an immense relief. He was safe. Damn safe.

"Don't you dare come any closer or she dies!" Takeshi yelled, pushing the barrel of the gun harder into my head. I cried out but bit my lip to stop. It was useless, though, as I glanced at the terrified face of my friends and Inuyasha's furious one. I was going to die here. A few tears slipped from my eyes and I met Inuyasha's gaze.

Even if he couldn't hear me, he'd be able to read my lips. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

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**A/N: Oh yeah! The whole first part up to the last segment was by Bella but the last part I had fun writing. We both did, actually, so I hope you guys review! I only got one review last time! What the heck is that? I demand at least five reviews for the next chapter! So it it's in your best interest to REVIEW! (more than five would be better!)**

** ~Daichi**


	13. Freedom

** A/N: Hey you guys! Sorry for the late update, but I'm getting pretty busy with getting ready to go on a five-day trip. I leave on Thursday and I don't come back until Tuesday morning. I want to get in this chapter right before I leave so that Bella can start the epilogue. **

**Sweet reading!**

** Disclaimer: Don't own, so don't sue.**

**Chapter 13: Freedom**

"Why the hell do you have to involve Kagome in this?" Inuyasha yelled up to Takeshi. "It's me you want, isn't? Because Kikyo loved me and not you?"

I glanced at Inuyasha as he said this, slightly surprised at the mention of Kikyo. We hadn't talked about her since she was taken away.

Takeshi just laughed.

"I don't care who Kikyo loved or if she ever cared about me," Takeshi laughed out louder. "Because it doesn't change the fact that my revenge will be sweet. You fell for the trap so easily," He pulled me closer, seductively tracing his finger on the curve of my cheek. "Would you really give her up so easily?"

"Get your dirty hand off her and fight like a real man!" Inuyasha bit out. His knuckles were white from the anger he was surely experiencing at the moment. I didn't what to do, especially the way Takeshi was holding me. It felt wrong, sick and I longed the arms of the man I loved, but what could I do?

Before I could think of anything, Takeshi backed towards the wall and flipped a switch that illuminated the whole warehouse. It was then that I saw the guns that were pointed at Inuyasha and my friends. I saw his stance turn defensive as did Kouga's and Ayame's. Miroku pushed Sango behind him.

"I never intended to fight, Inuyasha, because I just don't think you're worth the time killing. I have what I want." He began towing me to the stairs that would lead to the ground floor of the warehouse, but I wasn't about to let myself go willingly. I didn't know what else I could do but thrash and kick. I had to save my friends and my husband.

"Damn it, just move!" He pulled me harder, making me fall the the ground. When he tried to pick me up, I kicked him on his injured leg.

"I won't go with you!" I yelled, fresh tears streaming down my face. "I don't love you and I never will! And even if you do manage to force me, I will never be yours because my heart will _always_ _belong to Inuyasha_. But," I added. "I'll go quietly if you let Inuyasha and my friends leave."

"Kagome, don't!" Inuyasha yelled from behind me. I didn't want to so see his face because if I did, it might break my resolve and right now, the most important thing was to get them out of here, even if it cost me my freedom.

Takeshi stared at me and when he finally decided to believe me, he turned to his goons. "Fine," he said, "Move out!". The guns immediately were gone and the men behind them reappeared to apprehend my friends. I heard the footsteps of my friends being forced out, but Inuyasha wasn't moving.

"I'm not leaving without her!" Inuyasha shouted, hitting the man that was holding him down. Even in his human form, he was stronger than most. He took down half the men before he made a mad dash towards me. Takeshi held up his gun and I screamed when he pulled the trigger.

Inuyasha yelled with pain as the bullet him him and I wished that I had been shot at instead.

Takeshi dragged me as he moved to see Inuyasha. He was shot in his chest and he was bleeding profusely, soaking his clothes through. Inuyasha was barely conscious with all the blood loss. I wanted to crawl towards him but Takeshi yanked me back by my hair.

"See, this is why I didn't want to fight you." Takeshi kicked Inuyasha with the toe of his shoe hard on his side. "You're too easy to kill while you're in this form, but I guess that was part of my plan from the start."

"How . . . did—"

"How did I know the night of the full moon was when you turned human?" Takeshi finished for him. "Ah, it was simple. A small raid through your house and I had the information I needed. By the way, do you know your wife was pregnant?" His eyes were cold and his smirk was wide with his triumph. "Almost since the day she left."

I gasped when he told him. If Sango had kept her promise, Inuyasha wouldn't have known about the baby that I was expecting. God, this was not the way I wanted to tell him. Inuyasha glanced at me, but I didn't register surprise or anger in his eyes. All I could see was sadness.

"I—" Inuyasha tried to choke out.

"But of course you didn't know. So sorry to burst your bubble, but you won't have to worry about it. She's not going to have it, not if I have anything to say about it."

That did it. That there, that was pushing the line. Way over the line. Taking advantage of my unbound hands, I grabbed his leg and pulled. He was so surprised that he fell and the gun in his hand skittered across the floor. I grabbed the sword that was at Inuyasha's side and stood up. It was my last weapon of resort but even if I didn't know how to use it well, I'd defend what I loved.

"Damn you," Takeshi growled. "I should have just forced you to come and kept you bound." Standing up, he glanced at the sword in my hand. "You don't even know how to use that."

My grip on the sword tightened. "Who cares? I'll just run you with it."

"Ooh, touchy aren't we? Didn't like the fact that I told your husband your secret?"

"My life is none of your damn business! You should've stayed in jail where you belong. How many more lives do have to ruin before you're satisfied?"

"Tall words for someone who was in my own business. Who told you to look up my files? See, I was going to let you live but now that you've pissed me off," Takeshi's eyes hardened. "I have no choice but to kill you."

To that, I had no answer. I didn't know how or what he was going to do, but his threat left no doubt in my mind that he'd rather have me dead then be with me. I glanced behind me, where Inuyasha was laying and saw that he was passed out. What could I do to get him out of here?

I had no choice but to make the first move. I tried thinking of a good stance to start on, but I gave up after a few seconds and just resorted to running straight with the sword at a straight angle. I thought I'd be able to at least severely injure him, but he was better than I imagined.

Takeshi grabbed the sword form the blade side, twisted it and swung it hard. Since I was grasping the hilt so hard, I flew with it. I hit the wall and the sword fell about ten feet away from me. I wanted to grab it, but I was hurt and couldn't move. I was scared that if I moved anymore, the baby would die. I couldn't let that happen.

Takeshi grabbed his gun and walked right up to me. He pointed the gun in my face, a few feet away from my nose. He grinned as he saw my horrified expression.

"I guess you and your baby's number are up." He spit on me then. "Doesn't matter. You half-demon spawn would be a freak of nature anyway." He cocked the gun and I closed my eyes, breathing what were probably my last breaths.

Ugh, to die so young.

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I thought I was a goner. I thought I was chopped liver. I thought fate was being cruel again. What I didn't think, was that I was still alive and breathing. I opened my eyes and the image shocked me to the point where I almost fainted.

Takeshi stood in front of me, blood dripping from where Inuyasha's sword had pierced through him. His eyes found mine and I could see the hatred in them burn for a second before he fell to the side. Inuyasha must have woken up or something. But it wasn't Inuyasha.

"Damn it," Leila cursed, dropping onto her knees. "I shouldn't have moved so fast."

My mouth fell open and I couldn't find a word to say to her. Leila, whom I hated, who had almost ruined my life, had instead saved it? Was the world upside-down? Did I enter an alternate universe or something? I pinched myself, but I figured that it would hurt to if I was in a parallel dimension. She glanced up at me and frowned.

"Are you just going to sit there? Isn't your husband on his death bed over there?" She jabbed her thumb behind her.

"But what about you?" I asked, softly. I could see where the bullet had entered her chest and where it was still lodged. She was bleeding so much I thought she might just keel over and die right there, but I listened and crawled over to Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, honey? It's me, Kagome." I grabbed his hand and held in next to my cheek. "I'm so sorry, Inuyasha. I should've trusted you." I cried.

"S'kay." he mumbled, cracking open his eyes. I thought I'd never see his beautiful alluring human eyes again. "I . . . should h-have talked to you."

"Shh, you don't have to say anything more." I pressed a finger to his lips. "I'm going to get you out of here and then—"

"Over my dead body!"

I heard Leila's gasp and my own at the same time. I turned around and saw Takeshi standing up, barely, but still standing. What the hell! Was he made of titanium or was he from another planet? How was it that this guy still wasn't dead? Leila tried to scrambling towards us but Takeshi wasn't having that. He ripped the sword from his gut with a howl of pain and ran it through Leila. If there had been a small hope for her living, it was trampled and gone now. She was never going to be able to survive all that blood-loss.

"No one will be leaving this place," Takeshi fumbled in his pocket and striked a match. "I had this place hosed with gasoline. I wasn't going to let anyone make a fool of me. I'll die tonight, but you'll be coming down with me!" His laugh sent chills down my spine and my heart stopped when he let go of the match.

He was right. The place lit up in seconds and then the flames were suddenly near me and Inuyasha. I was about to grab him, when he stopped me.

"Save yourself and the baby," he whispered, touching my face. "My— our child, needs to live."

I about died of joy right in that second, but reality crashed down on me. Literally. The warehouse was falling apart and if we didn't get out fast, we'd both be charred barbecue.

"No! I'm not leaving without you because even if you don't think so," I grunted as I hoisted Inuyasha up. "Our baby needs a father."

Inuyasha tried to grin, but he moaned when it hurt. I wanted to giggle, but I had a more pressing matter at hand. I maneuvered carefully around the flames and finally was able to get towards the exit. I kicked opened the door with my foot and managed to get out of the flames.

"Kagome!"

I glanced up and saw my friends, a little battered but okay. While we had been inside, they had been having their own battle outside. Kouga was still a little way's off, dragging some knocked out goon to the bushes.

"Stay here with Inuyasha. I'll be right back." I handed him over to a surprised Miroku, but Ayame grabbed my arm and shook me.

"Kagome, you can't go back in there! The place is ready to fall and you're pregnant. Don't do anything to hurt yourself!"

I shook her off. "I won't. I have to go save someone else."

I ran off back into the warehouse, but I was sure I heard Ayame and Sango curse my 'good-natured heart' as they put it. Well, they were right. Damn my good-natured heart if I die.

I ran back to find Leila still alive, panting, but okay. She shook her head when she saw me and tired pushing me away.

"Don't, Kagome."

"I have to! I can't just leave you here." I responded, trying to grab her arm, but again she shook it off.

"Why, of all people, why me? I did nothing but hurt you. I don't deserve this kindness." I noticed that she was crying now.

"Because you were being used. You were manipulated, just like I was." I said, grabbing her tightly this time. She sighed and closed her eyes as I dragged her as fast as I could without getting ourselves burned. It was so hot now; I could feel the sweat dripping at a constant rate. Where was the damn exit?

I cried out when I saw a black figure try to drag itself toward us. It had been licked by the flames already, and it seemed as if the fire followed its trail. It moaned, but I couldn't hear it, but I didn't need hearing aids to hear his shout.

"DIE!"

I screamed and pulled Leila faster, turning and trying to find the exit. I cried out in joy when I finally found it. I pulled Leila through first, Sango and Ayame still at the door. They frowned when they saw her, but they carried her out anyway. I was just about to go through the door when the charred figure grabbed my leg.

I screamed bloody murder. It was as if my worst nightmare was coming to life. Kouga pulled me from one side and with a swift kick from myself, I wrenched myself free and closed the door. I smiled and felt free to pass out. Only one thought kept me smiling.

I was finally free.

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** A/N: That's the last chapter, you guys! The epilogue will the the last part to this story. I am so happy was able to write this and I am eternally grateful to midnightlily (aka Bella) for supporting me and helping me write half the story! Without her, the plot would have skewed towards a different angle, but I'm glad it turned out this way. I love you, Bella! (No homo, of course)**

** I also want to thank every single one of you who has ever read or reviewed "Shop 'til you drop!" and this sequel, "After the honey moon ends,". For those of you who have only read this story, you should really read the prequel, but thanks for reading anyway.**

** I LOVE YOU ALL! I hope I see you guys review my other stories, so always be on the look-out for Daichi, the authoress! And as my last request, (not my last, but drama makes everything better) REVIEW!**

** ~Daichi**


	14. Epilogue: Flowers

** A/N: . . . o.O**

** Disclaimer: For the last time, I don't own Inuyasha! Kagome does! *cough* I mean, Rumiko Takahashi!**

**Epilogue: Flowers**

"Is she okay?" Sango asked squeezing my shoulder. The paramedic nodded to her. I watched as the EMTs started to load Inuyasha and Leila into the back of the ambulances. I was so scared for them. Leila looked so near death; Inuyasha didn't look any better.

"Come on Kaggers; let's get you home so you can rest." Ayame wrapped an arm around me.

"No," I said pulling away from her. "I want to go with Inuyasha."

"Kagome, you're not going to be able to rest too well at the hospital."

"And you think I will at home?"

I'm guessing they saw the panicked expression in my eyes because neither Sango or Ayame protested as I walked over to the ambulance.

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He was going to be okay. He had to be. He had no choice, there was no way he could leave me alone. The doctor said Inuyasha would be okay if he could make it through the night because once he transformed everything would be uphill. Sunrise, he just had to make it to sunrise.

_ "You're going to be okay. Come on hun, just hold on until daylight. You can do it." _I mentally tried to send Inuyasha good thoughts although I was mostly doing it to make myself feel better. The images of Inuyasha's limp and bloodied body flashed into my mind and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. Nope, I shook my head and took a deep breath. I would not cry, not now. I only cried when things were going bad and things would be okay. Inuyasha was going to get better.

I hoped.

I went to a machine and got myself a cup of cocoa and sipped it slowly, letting the sweetness of the warm drink soothe me. I walked around and called my mom to let her know what was going on. She asked if I wanted her company while I waited but I assured her that I was okay. After a bit, I sat down and sent more good thoughts Inuyasha's way.

I jolted awake."Crash cart to 219! Crash cart to 219!" A voice called urgently over the intercom. Some weird type of alarm was going off. A large group of doctors and nurses ran by with a cart with a defibrillator and went through the doors that led to the ICU patients; where Inuyasha was.

My heart was pounding; I had no idea what room Inuyasha was in. Was 219 his room number? A sick feeling took hold of me and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake it. How could I have fallen asleep when my husband's life was in danger like that? Jeeze, I had to be the worst wife ever.

First I ran off leaving him alone because I was mad and now this? I put my head into my hands. It seemed like things would never be right because of one bad decision that I had made. If I hadn't have gotten mad at Inuyasha none of this mess would have happened. Now I had to worry about my being a widow and I hadn't been married more than a few months. Not only that but my baby. All I could do was pray that my baby wouldn't lose its father before they got the chance to meet. Someone tapped me on t he shoulder, I looked up to find a grim faced doctor standing over me. No, please no.

"Mrs. Takahashi?"

"Yes,"

"I have some bad news." My heart turned to ice and dropped down into my stomach. I steeled myself for the rest of the sentence.

"Leila went into cardiac arress. She's alive, but her heart's taken all she can." He sighed, dramatically taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes. "Even with everything we've done . . . she won't make it. She probably has an hour left or so."

"Oh." A little gasp escaped my lips. It wasn't Inuyasha. I was so relieved. But Leila. . . I didn't know how to feel about that. Sure she was rude to me at first, but she was being used and she ended up saving my life in the end. Maybe I should visit her. Just so that she wouldn't be alone, I mean.

"My husband?" I asked, quickly sobering up.

"He's doing well, he was stable for most of the night and he's doing better now that he's finished transforming." He changed back? I looked for a window; the sun was up!

I glanced at the Doctor. "Can I see Leila?" Better do it before talking to Inuyasha. I still didn't know how he would react to the fact that I had kept the information on our baby a secret. He might even hate me. I shook my head and gathered myself to go see Leila.

"Of course." He nodded.

Leading me around the hallway and pass three rooms, we were there. The doctor looked solemn, so I didn't want to look at him while I opened the door to the girl on her deathbed. Slowly, I opened the door, not wanting the doctor to announce me.

It was a sight I wasn't prepared for.

There was just so much machinery! I could see tubes and needles sticking out from all around her and the heart monitor was beeping at a weird pace. Seemed like her heart was going against everything to keep beating, but it was futile. From what I could tell, Leila was not going to make it.

"Leila?" I whispered.

The bandaged figure in the bed glanced up. Leila's eyes were confused as I walked up to her.

"Oh," she said hoarsely. "It's you. Are you coming to rub in the fact that I lost to you? Or the fact that I'm dying?"

I shook my head. "No, Leila. I didn't come for any of that." I sighed. "I just want to understand how you could have done something like this," I paused. "to me and Inuyasha. I mean, why?"

Leila half-laughed. "Simple. I was blind."

"I don't understand."

Leila glanced at me wearily. "Ever heard of the phrase, "Love is blind"? Well, that's exactly what happened."

"Oh," I answered. So she had been in love with Takeshi? The thought almost sounded wrong to me, but when I thought about it, it didn't. Love knows no bounds, right?

Leila sighed, looking up at the white ceiling. "Yeah. I was too caught up with him. I thought we could have been something." She glanced at me. "But he always seemed to talk about you. Everything you did, he knew. It was horrifying to be so wholely ignored by the one you love."

"So you went along with his plan so that he could pay attention to you?"

Leila suddenly broke down, covering her eyes with her good arm. "Could you blame be for wanting that?" She sobbed. "I just . . . I just didn't know what to do!"

Her heart-broken expression made me remember how I felt when Inuyasha had been ignoring me. She was right. It was a horrible feeling. Painful enough to do anything to change it.

"Ah." I nodded. "I understand."

"You do?" She looked at me with wide eyes.

"Yes," I nodded. "It's the same thing I felt when you started taking Inuyasha away from me. I felt alone, as if there was no one to love me anymore. He felt so distant and the pain . . . was almost too much." If I hadn't had my friends to lean back on during that time, I don't know what I would have done.

Leila's eyes grew somber and sadder. "I'm sorry for that. Even if you don't forgive me, I still have to say it. No one should be put through the pain you must have felt. I deserve to die."

"I forgive you."

"What?" She glanced up at me, bewildered.

I sighed, almost embarrassed that I had to repeat myself. "I said, I forgive you."

She rubbed her eyes and laughed slightly. "You really have a damn good-natured heart, don't you?"

Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, me.

"I also have to thank you."

"For what? All I did was inflict pain on you."

I shrugged. "Yeah, you did, but you made me realize something." I smiled. "You made me realize that I have friends who are there whenever I need them, you made me realize that I had to be strong for myself and my baby and you also made me realize what I wonder husband I have. Plus," I began to add. "you saved me back there in the warehouse. My whole family. Shouldn't we be even now?"

"If you want to say it is." She smiled half-heartedly.

I nodded and said, "I have one more question."

"Shoot."

"Why _did_ you save us?"

Leila's smile came back. "I had a change of heart." She sighed, a long one at that. "I realized that Takeshi didn't love me, but was obsessed with you. I knew how crazy he could be, and rather than watch it all unfold, I chose to end the suffering. For the both of us."

"Oh, Leila. You're not as bad as I thought." I smiled, chuckling.

Leila shook her head laughing, but grabbed my hand with her bandaged one, squeezing it weakly. "I'm glad you came by. At least I was able to ask for forgiveness."

I smiled, suddenly tearing. "You have your second chance. I just wish . . ." I trailed off, not wanting to finish my sentence. The words just didn't want to come out.

"Who's to say I won't have a second chance?" Leila smiled, but her eyes were sad. "I don't think this ends here, Kagome. We'll meet again, somewhere beyond here." She chuckled, almost as if laughing at her own words. "Can we be friends then?"

"We already are." I choked out, my feelings getting to me.

"Thank you, Kagome." She closed her eyes, her voice getting softer. "Thank you."

The moment she said it, she stopped breathing and her hand fell from my own, making a _thump_ noise on her bed. Her heart monitor only produced one long, infinite sound. I couldn't stop the tears from falling, even when the doctors came in. Leila had been a victim of Takeshi, just like I had been, and I felt for her even after everything that had happened. I had finally understood. You might call me crazy, but I think Leila described it right.

It was my damn good-natured heart.

Always the one to believe the best in everyone, I had been disillusioned many times. But it's the reason why I even got close to Inuyasha and it's why I felt free from all the hate that had been in me. By forgiving Leila, I had released the chains that had bound my heart from doing what it knew best.

To love everyone.

I wandered into the hallway and bumped into the doctor from earlier. The time to speak with Inuyasha had come. What would he say to me?I hadn't even opened my mouth when the doctor softly smiled at me and asked,

"Would you like to see him?"

I nodded, which was about the only thing I could do at the moment.

The room was down the hallway. I breathed in deeply and wiped my eyes. The doctor opened the door to the room and hesitantly stepped inside. Inuyasha was hooked up to a few machines but nothing too serious like Leila'd had. He looked a lot better, still pretty bad but better.

"Mr. Takahashi, you have a visitor." Inuyasha opened his eyes; those beautiful golden eyes.

"Hey baby, hey." He grinned my favorite crooked smile. "Don't cry Kagome," He called out softly. I wiped at my eyes trying to figure out what he was talking about, only for my hand to come back wet. Again with the waterworks! I thought I had stopped crying before I came in. Inuyasha motioned for me to come over and I eased myself into the chair next to his bed.

"I'm so happy to see you. I'm sorry, if I hadn't have been so stupid none of this would've happened. Are you okay? Does it hurt?" The words came out of my mouth in a rush. Inuyasha shook his head.

"Don't blame yourself. This is all Takeshi's fault and well, partially mine too for not listening to you. And yeah, I'm okay. The doctors are giving me lots of pain meds and thanks to my youkai awesomeness, I'm healing up nicely." Inuyasha gave me a small crooked grin. I tried to smile back and failed.

"Really Kagome, it's not as bad as it looks. Come here." He patted the bed and I climbed in next to him.

This was the first time that I'd been this close with Inuyasha in a while and it was in a hospital bed—I didn't even care—we assumed one of our usual positions, Inuyasha with his arms around me, and me with my head on his shoulder. We sat quietly for a while, just basking in each other's presence. I couldn't even begin to tell you how happy I was that Inuyasha was even alive, let alone doing how well he was. All I knew at that moment was that I never wanted to leave that bed. Inuyasha splayed one of his hands and placed it over my stomach before looking down at me.

"When were you going to tell me about this baby of ours?"

I cringed outwardly. "Believe me Inuyasha; I never wanted to keep that from you."

"And I don't doubt you sweetie." He cut me off gently.

"I've wanted to tell you so badly from the moment I found out, but I didn't think it would be a good idea to tell you while we were so mad at each other. I wanted to wait until things got a little better but then this happened. I'm sorry you had to find out from Takeshi." I hung my head a little. He was being so nice about this and I didn't know why.

"Actually, I found out before Takeshi said anything."

I looked up in surprise and found Inuyasha gently smiling down at me. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

"Sango. . ." I hissed out, plans for torture already forming within my mind. That girl couldn't keep a promise to save her life. Boy, was she going to hear from me real soon. With a frying pan, of course.

"Actually, you should thank Sango." He laughed. "Let's just say, knowing that my whole family was at stake helped me do what I needed to do." Inuyasha kissed my hair and I snuggled into him more. "So am I having a son or a daughter? And when is the kid due, because we have absolutely nothing for a baby at the house."

"We've got another six or seven months before our little one gets here and no, I don't know what we're having yet. It's a little too soon to tell."

"Well, as long as the baby looks like you I'm happy."

I was surprised. "Me? No, black hair and brown eyes are way too common. I like your silver hair and gold eyes."

"No, no, no, you're eyes are _much_ nicer, Kagome."

I laughed. "Pfft, they're the color of mud!"

"Chocolate brown. A very gorgeous brown." Inuyasha said his voice dropping an octave and a soft expression took hold of his face. "You're so beautiful Kagome. I'm happy you're carrying my child." I stared up at Inuyasha for a moment before I started to laugh.

"Hun, I think that's the pain meds talking."

A hurt expression came over Inuyasha's face and I instantly regretted what I said. "I mean it Kagome. You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

"And you're the best thing that ever happened to me. I'd probably be dead right now if it weren't for you." I added, trying to liven things us.

"I wouldn't let that happen." Inuyasha said before capturing my lips with his.

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"This place looks deserted!" Ayame whispered a little to loudly.

I bonked her on the head. "Shut it, Ayame! We're at a funeral, for pete's sake!" I crossed my arms.

The red-head pouted, running back to Kouga. "Sorry."

I sighed and walked back to my husband, who was currently nearer to the coffin. I had a couple of flowers to give. Actually, quite a few.

"You know," Inuyasha leaned down to whisper in my ear while the priest was talking. "This place is pretty deserted."

I sighed. "I know. We make up half of the people here. She didn't have many friends and she had no family. Maybe that's why she clung onto him so long."

Inuyasha sighed. "It gives me a better understanding for what she did. Leila was probably all alone when Takeshi showed up. He just used to get to you and me."

"She was happy at the end though. She thanked me."

My husband nodded and the rest of the funeral went on without a hitch. When everything was said and done, and her body lay beneath the earth, I tugged on Inuyasha's sleeve. "Can we wait until everyone leaves? I want to say good-bye personally and in my own way." I held up the flowers gathered in my hand.

Inuyasha's eyes softened. "Of course we can."

Sango tapped me from behind half an hour later. "What are we waiting for? We should leave."

I held up the flowers. "I have to say a few things first. Okay?"

Sango had been the only one adverse to coming to the funeral. Everyone else either understood exactly why I had to do this or understood my feelings and the situation. It was appropriate because she had saved my life, but also because at the end, she proved to be a friend.

She sighed, but nodded. "Fine." She said nodding. She stood back with Miroku while Inuyasha and I neared the newly dug grave.

I readied my flowers and stood up straight. "Leila, thank you for everything you made me realize. I am indebted to you and I wish to give you these flowers." I took out the first one which was a white tulip. "This white tulip means forgiveness. I have forgiven you from the deepest part of my heart." I stuck my hand in again and pulled out a pink carnation. "This is to say that I will never forget what you have brought to me." I picked out another, a mixed color Zinnia. "The meaning for this flower is the absence of a friend." I picked out a forget-me-not. "and this flower is so that you always remember your promise and to show you I won't forget either."

Just as I was about to lay them on the ground, Inuyasha touched my shoulder, and pulled out a daffodil. "May I say a few words?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You know the meaning of that flower?"

he nodded. "Yeah . . . I knew you were into flowers so I . . . I just wanted to know what it would mean if I ever got this from you."

I smiled and gave him a chaste kiss. "You'll never have to worry about that." I ushered him on. "Go ahead."

Placing the flower on the dirt in front of the grave, he said, "This is for the love you were never able to get back. I hope that wherever you are, that you are happy and loved."

I knelt down beside him, placing my flowers next his. We stood up together, hand in hand. I was not crying, but I still felt the pain of losing a new-found friend. Even Inuyasha cried a bit, later claiming that it had been the pollen from the flowers, but we all know better, don't we?

As we entered our house, Inuyasha grabbed me in an embrace and kissed me with enough passion to light up the house. Laughingly, he pulled away and placed a hand at my belly.

"Can't wait for the baby." He smiled, and then wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Then we can make another one!"

I laughed and playfully hit him. "You're such a dog, Inuyasha."

"Thanks for noticing."

We laughed together and sat on the couch. The silence was not a burden on us anymore. There was something different now, ever since the warehouse incident had occurred. We were more united and we hardly went anywhere, except to classes or work, alone.

Inuyasha kissed my hair as I snuggled up against him. "What are we going to name the baby if it's a girl? Or a boy?"

I thought it over and smiled. "Well, I have a good feeling it's going to be a girl, so I won't stress for a boy name."

"You never know. What's the name then?"

I sighed. "Her name will be Izayoi, after your mother, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha stilled but then had his lips on mine before I could breath again. I laughed. "What's with the attack?"

"What? I can't thank my wonderful wife with a kiss?"

"It seems you want more than a kiss, if you ask me!" I chuckled. His laughter was loud as he picked me up bridal style. "H-hey! What are you doing?" I spluttered.

He only grinned. "Putting your words into actions, that's all. Don't tell me you don't want to?"

Embarrassed and tomato red, I reluctantly answered. "Well, no but-"

"Then it's settled." He bent down and captured my lips in a fiery kiss.

I smiled against his lips. I knew my life was finally going to be what I wanted to be. Takeshi was gone, Inuyasha and I were inseparable and I was going to become a mother pretty soon. What else could I ask for?

I sighed in content as Inuyasha carried me to our room.

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"DAMN YOU INUYASHA! DAMN YOU TO HELL!" I screamed a the top of my lungs, just as another contraction pain hit. I was being wheeled through the hospital quickly, all the while screaming obscenities at my poor husband.

"Kagome, calm down." He tried soothing me.

I couldn't speak as another contraction hit. They were coming faster. My baby was coming soon. If these hospital people didn't put me in a bed soon, hell would break loose. Literally.

After what seemed like an eternity of pain and curse words, I was finally in a room. The baby was coming and fast. I squeezed Inuyasha's hand so hard I felt that my bones were breaking. Even Inuyasha winced.

"Inuyasha," I gasped. "You love me right?"

He looked dumbfounded by the question. "Of course I love you!"

"Good!" I almost yelled. "Then I can get through this."

The baby was coming now. I could feel my precious baby move out from me and with one last push, my baby was out. As soon as I heard the cry, I sighed and leaned back against my pillows, exhausted. Inuyasha kissed me on my forehead, but quickly left my side to go cut the umbilical cord.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha called excitedly. "Izayoi has my hair!"

I sighed in relief. I knew it would be a girl and I had hoped for his hair color. "Good. I always loved the color of your hair. Does she have dog ears?" That was another feature I had hoped for.

Inuyasha nodded. "Cute ones too."

I held out my arms, wanting to see my baby. "Bring her to me."

He walked slowly, careful not to jostle Izayoi. Gently, he handed me to her. She was so beautiful that I couldn't say anything. All I could do was stare and wonder at how Inuyasha and I had been able to create such a beautiful baby. I turned to Inuyasha, pulled him down from his shirt and kissed him full on without caring that the hospital staff were there.

When we finally broke apart, I smiled. "She's so precious Inuyasha." I glanced at my daughter. "Whose eyes do you think she got?" I asked. We hadn't seen yet, since she hadn't opened her eyes.

"Let's see." He said, leaning in as the baby opened her eyes for the first time.

"Oh wow!" I smiled huge. "She has my eyes!"

Indeed, her chocolate brown eyes stared up at me and Inuyasha with wonder. "Izzy," I cooed. "I'm your mommy. You probably know me already but here is your father, the other half of the package." I chuckled.

"Hey, Izzy." Inuyasha whispered softly, adopting my new nick-name quickly. "Do you know you have the most prettiest eyes in the world? Your mom has them too."

As we sat there, talking to my baby, and holding hands with my husband, I couldn't believe there was a happier woman on earth. I was exhausted and sweating, but I pressed my daughter close to me. She would have a normal life with her parents and our friends. Besides, she'd have playmates soon. Ayame was almost to term with her baby boy and Sango with her twin girls.

It was funny how sudden Sango's wedding had been. When Miroku found out he was going to be a father, he proposed right then and there, in their bathroom. Sango had been so surprised that she had shouted out the wrong answer, but she did say yes when she figured out it wasn't a prank. Ayame had wanted to make this whole other-worldly celebration, but the bride and the groom were happy with the small wedding they asked for. Being pregnant together was pure hell for the men though. I would miss it, but right now, I was happy.

I was moved to another room and my baby was taken to be cleaned and examined so that we could leave in two days. During the day I breast-fed her for the first time and all my friends came by. By the time it was dark, Inuyasha was sleeping away on the black couch in the room and Izzy was in the little bed they had prepared for her. I laid back on my pillow and glanced at the flowers that were beside my bed, a pink rose and a cattail, and chuckled at how the meanings fit perfectly.

Perfect happiness and peace.

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**A/N: And so ends the exciting adventure of ATHME! Wahhh! I am so happy and yet so sad at the moment! It was a pleasure writing this story, and I hope you guys loved it too. Please, regard me kindly in your reviews! Did you like the ending? If you have any questions, please write them in a review as I will be making a Omake sort of thing with author interviews. Bella's and mine, of course, so if you have a question for either of us, go ahead! **

**Thank you so much for all the support you gave us throughout this story and it's prequel and thank you for taking the time to review! I hope you do it all again!**

** See ya in the next story!**

** ~Daichi**


	15. Omake

**A/N: Hey you guys it's me! Daichi. I came back for my interview, but please, take a close up! Naw, I'm just kidding. Thanks for sending in your questions. I hope you find this entertaining and interesting. First up is Bella and then me, Daichi! (And sorry this is like super duper late! I lost track of it and then found it with enough time to finish it!)**

**Co-author: Bella**

**What was your reaction when you were confirmed as a co-author for ATHME? **

I was so excited! But I was really nervous too because it was my first time being a co-author and I didn't know if Daichi would like my writing style or not.

** What was your favorite part in writing the story?**

Oh, everything! I really liked getting into character and seeing inside Kagome's head.

**What was the hardest part to write?**

The hardest thing for me was always starting off the chapter. I had ideas but no clue how to begin. I would write the beginning of a chapter like six times (no lie) before I liked it and could write the rest of the chapter.

** How did working with Daichilover go? Was there ever any problems?**  
I love working with Daichi, she's awesome and never got mad at me for taking a long time to send in new chapter (sorry Daichi!) but our writing seemed to mesh really well and when she would edit the chapter it would come out awesomer than I intended. There weren't really any problems.

**How did you feel when you were writing the last chapter/epilogue?**  
I was really happy to write the last chapter, I wrote it while I was on vacation ^.^ I was really sad to end it though. I had gotten really attached to the characters and the story had become my baby and I really didn't want to see it come to a close.

**Who's your favorite character?**  
Out of the show or the story? Out the the story I would have to say. . .Kagome! Haha I somehow got nicknamed Kagome in seventh grade and I guess i feel really connected to her.

**How did you first hear about "After the honey moon ends," and the offer of being co-author?**  
I was reading "Shop Till You Drop" and saw something about it on Daichi's profile and messaged her and BAM! I was her co-author.

**What was your inspiration? **  
Everything actually. Writing is really something that comes easily to me so I'd be sitting there eating pizza and I'd be like "Hey! I can make Kagome and Inuyasha have pizza!" and the rest of the scene would unfold from there.

Questions from the readers:

**Bella, did you like writing the story?- cutelildogears**

Yes, I did very much.

**Author: Daichi**

**How did you come up with the idea of ATHME?**

Hmm, let's see right after I finished "Shop 'til you drop." I felt sort of lonely. I had really loved that story because so many people reviewed and favorited it. Apart from that, I wanted to write more about Kagome and Inuyasha's life outside of high school. I had recently also started taking a class at my local college (I'm still in highschool) and was like "That's it! They'll go to college!" And the rest came from there.

**What was your favorite part in writing the story?**

Oh, that's a tough one! I loved all of it really. When Bella would write a chapter, I would go through and edit and add details. Usually, they were snarky or sarcastic comments/thoughts Kagome would say. The scene I loved to write was Chapter 13: Freedom and my part in the epilogue.

**Who was your favorite character?**

That's another hard one. I really liked writing for Kagome because Kagome to me in this story was a little more selfish, sarcastic and dramatic than in the anime or manga. It gave her personality that I loved to write. Also, this may sound weird, but I liked it when I wrote about Takeshi. He's just so twisted, evil and what not, that I liked figuring out what he would say or do. It was very interesting trying to get into the mind-set of a murderer like him. He's also my original character, which makes him my creation. He's fun to write ;D

**What was the hardest part to write?**

The very last part of the epilogue. I've never been in labor because I have never been pregnant and so I had to go off the memories of my mother's labors. I've been through three, two that I actually remember and were my basis of this segment. Plus, my mom talks about it whenever she mentions that she wants me to get married soon. (I'm not even out of Highschool mom!) but yeah that was the hardest. Talk about writing outside of your life experience!

**How was it working with your co-author, Bella?**

Oh it was great. She has a good writing style and she has wonderful ideas. She was the one who came up with the idea of Leila. Let me tell you, if she hadn't suggested that, the WHOLE story would have gone in a VERY different direction but I'm glad she did! I don't know where I would have been without her since I had other stories to write and she would take care of every other chapter. (She was evens, I was odds) She's a great authoress with a lot of potential and I hope she goes far in life. I also hope to work with her again one day in the future.

**How did you feel when you were writing the last chapter/epilogue?**

Like the world had ended! JK. I was closing a chapter of my life when I finished writing this story. I really loved the prequel and this story also had a special part in my heart. Ending it meant ending my ideas for it FOREVER. Sometimes, I'm sitting down or doing something and I think of this story and think about how the characters would have fared if this had been a never-ending story.

**Is there any information about any of the characters or chapters of ATHME that weren't mentioned in the story?**

Oh yeah, there's lots. I'll include a list and either background or what's happened to the characters (in my head) after the last chapter. Plus, some of the things mentioned in the chapters that just weren't mentioned again will be cleared.

We'll go by chapters, shan't we? (Haha, that's old English for you!)

**Chapter 5: Just when it couldn't get worse (We're starting here because I don't think there's anything in the first four chapters that I want to go over)**

Kagura: She's mentioned in this chapter and only this chapter. After STYD, she stays with Kagome's mom and starts paying rent after she finds a job as a manager in a clothes retail. (That's why she had the bags with her—she has great discounts!) Nothing really happens to her because of Takeshi. In this story, if we had ever gone farther, she might have met Sesshoumaru.

The Brownie fight: Ok, so here Kagome mentions that all of them should have a brownie fight. They actually do, probably during the week that Inuyasha was nice to Kagome because of bringing Leila home. They do girls against guys and the guys lose miserably. It's just a little fun fact.

The "Three points" paragraph: If any of you are Twilight fans, then you should have asked yourself why the last full paragraph sounded so familiar. It's because I pulled it from the back of the paper-back edition of the first book, _Twilight._ No, it's not the same but I chose the same format for fun and as a sort of allusion.

**Chapter 6: Attacked by the beast**

The even chapters: Ok, to get one thing straight, the even numbers are bella's chapters (with my editing and inserts) so these might have a little more because it gave me another chance to imagine things in a different way.

The Pool: Oh my gosh, when I read this was like "Crap! We've never mentioned a pool and now people are gonna be like WTF?" I also thought that if might be weird to be out in the country and have a pool like Kagome and Inuyasha have. But, since I trusted Bella,(and no I'm not bashing her writing) I went ahead and inserted a paragraph that sort of explained why it was never mentioned before. To me it seemed like a hasty, rushed-put together of an explanation but I never got complaints from it.

The Pizza: I know for a fact that the pizza scene was because Bella ate pizza that night. :D Lol.

The wedding gift: If you guys haven't figured out what it is. . . D: You haven't gone through puberty maybe. I didn't say what it was outright because it's really only rated T and I didn't want to step over any boundaries. (Maybe I still did with some of the cursing, but that wasn't as much. Here and there with the big words but nothing that bad)

The Wedding: Bella was the mastermind of this shindig, which includes the almost-rape-scene. (I expected that from me but Bella . . . D:?) and I'll be honest. I totally freaked out when I read that scene and I think I mentioned it in my author's note. I haven't been at the edge of my seat for a long time. :D

**Chapter 7: Unexpected Visitors**

Inutaisho: He finally makes an appearance here in this chapter, but not such a huge one. I had wanted him to reappear in the last chapter, but we just couldn't fit him in. I always thought about how his life is without his wife, but I would think that he still goes to her grave a lot. He was so happy that Kagome named her daughter after Izayoi that he seriously cried. (At least, I feel that he would.) If the story had continued, we might have had a scene a chapter of him just reminiscing at the grave site. (That just might sound good as a one-shot . . . what do you guys think?)

The "Dad" thing: I think I captured the embarrassment a person would have by calling their in-laws as if they were their own parents. Apart from that, Kagome hadn't used that word in a long time, so it was pretty weird for her.

The Bodyguards: So this was a plot device I wanted to really grab on, but it never really happened. There's hardly any mention of it anymore after this chapter and really, around chapter 10 or something Kagome tells Inutaisho to just let them go. I could have been better in using them. :(

**Chapter 8: Friction**

The Job: This was put in by Bella. I really wanted to use this too, but it just wasn't mentioned much after this. Maybe once or twice. Kagome left the job after she got pregnant and Inutaisho found a good (legal) job for Inuyasha that covered all their expenditures and have some left over. They're probably never going to leave that cottage since it's so important to them. They add additions for the new babies they make, lol. How many kids they had? Probably as many as they could have. :)

Leila: Ah, the third wheel. The horrible love rival of Kagome. She was actually inserted by Bella as well and after she told me what she had planned for her, I gave her the green light. In all sincerity, if it hadn't been for Bella's inspiration, this story would have gone down another, more darker alley. I mean, the idea was good enough to throw mine out so that's saying a lot!

And Inuyasha was sooo freakin' annoying in this chapter. I was so upset that he would forget his wife the way he did. Bella did a good job on conveying Kagome's feelings about it. I would have just outright killed him. Goodness, sometimes I wish I had put the necklace that Inuyasha has in the manga/anime in the story so Kagome could have used it! Maybe then the message would have gotten through his thick skull.

**Chapter 9: A bundle of joy**

The break-up: Ever since Leila was introduced, I had planned for this to happen. It just might be that I'm a horrible person, but I want those guys that don't know how stupid they're being even with being told to suffer. I totally made Inuyasha suffer and I know it sounds horrible to say that I liked it, but yes, I did. I wonder if bella did too . . .?

Inuyasha listening to sports: I never really mentioned this before or after, but Inuyasha is a HUGE soccer fan. He doesn't like the bruteness of american football, doesn't like how boring golf and tennis can be and can bear basketball only because Kagome likes it. He loves the way he can just run on the field and the intense moments you get when you're so near the goal . . . :D

The note: Oh, this was my favorite part of the chapter. IN YOUR FACE STUPID INUYASHA! The tear that falls onto the paper is later seen by Inuyasha, who can't believe that his wife has just left him. He actually calls his dad to talk to him about it and Inutaisho just tells him that he's an idiot for making her leave. Inuyasha only gets more depressed. Even when they're back together and have Izzy, there's always that little part in his subconsciousness that is scared that if he screws up, Kagome will pack up and leave with his kids and never come back.

**Chapter 10. Clueless husbands and skanks**

The title: Okay, does anyone else want to comment on the stupidness of the title? Or maybe the lack of creativity? Grr, I had to think up a title on the spot because bella just doesn't' use titles. I was trying to find a creative word for Leila, but my brain was fried and I went with "skank". I just had to choose the most ghetto of them all, didn't I? I would've have put whore, or maybe even hoe, but it was T rated (I wanted the titles to be G) and just didn't go right. Not like my replacement was better. _

The "F" word: Okay, for those of you were fans of STYD and actually remembered this little snippet of information, this was a reference to chapter something where it is explained that Inuyasha doesn't like the word freak. I don't remember exactly what chapter that is and I'm too lazy to look it up at the moment. On with the comments!

**Chapter 11: New Moon**

Takeshi: He hadn't appeared for a while and since I wanted Kagome to know what was happening, I chunk him in with Leila. It was a little weird to write for them because, even as the creator of one of them, I don't like them very much together. Apart, they both have their characteristics that set them apart but they really don't go together as a couple. At least, that's my opinion.

Kagome: Here she says that even though she finds out that Takeshi is the source of her problem, she still doesn't want to go back with Inuyasha. I thought this was more reasonable than her dropping everything and running to Inuyasha immediately. There was still the fact that Inuyasha chose Leila many times over Kagome. Would you go back that quick? I know I wouldn't. BUT after some logical thinking from Sango, she kinda gets halfway back to where Inuyasha is. The shopping helped too. ;D

The note: Well, It's all I could come up with. Not my best threat note, that's for sure. I should start practicing in real life. XD.

**Chapter 12: Wild-goose chase**

The "learning to fight": This part Bella put in, because I had no idea Inuyasha had taught Kagome to defend herself, but I guess that could've happened right after the kidnapping. Inuyasha didn't want Kagome to be helpless and she didn't want to caught off guard. It makes sense, ne?

Takeshi: He was REAAAAALLLLLY creepy in this chapter . . . again, Bella, what was going through your head? Omg, anyway, she's an amazing writer for giving me the chills with this chapter. Again.

_**p.s**_: Him being nice was even creepier than him being all psycho. Good work bella!

The "B" word: This is the only REALLY bad word and it was directed at Kagome (Sorry!) I wrote that phrase in and I debated on whether or not I should. I ended up doing it, so if anyone was offended by the curse word (I mean, it _is _a T rating . . .) sorry, but that's just my story for ya.

The fight: Leila and Takeshi knew Kagome was pregnant because they hacked into the hospital files when Leila saw her leave her house. (She was spying on her on Takeshi's orders) Besides that, Leila sometimes went in place of Takeshi into Kagome's house so that his scent wasn't left behind. Talk about doing the dirty work!

The gunshot: I hope you guys thought that Kagome had been shot. I think I may have tweaked it. (probably my only edit . . . or maybe it was all bella? I don't remember anymore! .) But just to make sure you guys got it, it was Leila being shot. Not Takeshi.

The real "F" word: Okay, so I totally dropped the F-bomb. On purpose. To emphasize. I mean, I would say a lot worse if some guy lied to me. He'd get a good hit to his balls before getting dunked in a toilet. (Yes, I'm evil.)

_(I just saw my author's note! I wrote the whole last part! YAY)_

**Chapter 13: Freedom**

Kikyo: I think this is the one and only time we wrote about Kikyo, or even mentioned her. It's true though. Takeshi hated that Inuyasha was the one Kikyo loved. That was the whole reason he wanted Kagome. To do the same thing that had been done to him (even though Inuyasha never wanted Kikyo)

Leila's saving: I think Leila really redeemed herself right here. From the very start, I wanted her to bad and turn good, and she did. She might not have been perfect, but she finally did something right. This is the reason she dies. Like she says, she moves to fast and she's had a massive blood wound. (Around the chest cavity, probably hit either the liver or a lung. Either one would've killed her.) Her small act of compassion, love or whatever you want to call it was her undoing. Yeah, the sword that Takeshi thrust in her body helped a bit too, but that was just the icing on the cake. Fate is thus cruel. But as they say, Karma will come and bit you in the butt. At least Kagome forgave her. Which is in her nature, by the way.

Burn baby burn: The part where Takeshi says "I'll die tonight, but you'll be coming down with me!" That was inspired from the Sailor Moon, where Rubeus self destructs his ship while he has the sailor scouts on board. He dies by himself in the end though. I wanted the same sort of thing here and that's basically you got your ending to the chapter!

**Epilogue: Flowers**

For some reason, I feel like even thought this chapter wraps everything up and I have lots I could talk about, I won't comment on anything. Most of the chapter is explained really in itself. I think it's the one that I can least talk about. I will say this though, the flower theme was something I had always loved and thus the peonies and whatever was the other flower in her vase after the birth.

Kagome and Inuyasha live forever, watching their kids go through life and then they're grand kids and after that . . . until forever I guess. If I wrote another story to make this a trilogy, it would probably be a couple of chapters of Inuyasha/ Kagome looking at their daughter, their thoughts and probably one chapter where they're together. Maybe even a chapter with Izzy. I don't know though. That story might just stay in my head. What do you guys think?

Well, thanks for reading all the way through! I hope I clarified somethings. If you have anymore question, leave a review and I will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Signing off for the last time,

~Daichilover

P.S: Sango totally gets trashed when Kagome is finally well enough to get mad at her for spilling the beans. It wasn't really that bad though. Kagome only gives her a look and then hugs her. Seriously, you just don't know with that girl.


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